


Korekiyo and the Shrinking Curse

by nerdelation8



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Gets a little depressing near the end like the real Danganronpa, Horror, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Macro/Micro, Magic, Romance, Shrinking, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2019-09-25 07:30:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 47,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17117069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdelation8/pseuds/nerdelation8
Summary: The Ultimate Anthropologist gets cursed by an ancient mask and shrinks to just a few inches tall.  Another student from the Academy for Gifted Juveniles finds him.  She is determined to keep him safe, even as the killing game continues and secrets get exposed.Mostly a warm and fuzzy relationship story, but there is some sex and some explicit violence related to the Killing Game.Warning: There is one chapter where Korekiyo has flashbacks to an unhappy childhood (name-calling by peers and emotional abuse from a family member-other abuse from that family member is implied but not shown), but it's just in that one chapter.  There's also a rather graphic execution scene halfway through the story.Will be updated as more chapters get written.





	1. The Mask of Judgment

Korekiyo trembled with fear. He stared up at me with wide yellow eyes. I was just as shocked as he was. Kiyo had just shrunk in the corner of his own anthropology lab, and from his vantage point on the dark grey floor I probably looked as big as an office building. I brushed my skirt out of the way and knelt down to try to seem less intimidating.

“Are you okay?” I asked. Well, clearly he wasn’t okay. The poor guy was terrified. He had every right to be, seeing as he was only a few inches tall.

“Th-the mask!” He cried in a shaken voice. “It cursed me!”

“It cursed you?”

The white mask on the wall stared down at Kiyo. He looked petrified. “I don’t know how, but…the legend is true! IT KNOWS! It knows what I’ve…!” He looked at me frantically and threw his arms out in front of himself. “Please, don’t kill me!”

I was confused. “It knows what?” 

I reached a hand towards Kiyo to comfort him and he practically leaped away from me. I drew my hand back. Having run out of room to escape, with his back against a cabinet, Kiyo sank down to the floor and covered his face with his arms. Poor guy.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “That probably wasn’t the best decision. But…it’s alright. I’m not gonna hurt you.”

I had never seen such emotion from the anthropologist. He sat on the floor, arms across his shins, and started crying. His long black hair fell onto his chest. The brim of his olive green hat obscured his face from view.

“I’m sorry this happened, Kiyo,” I said awkwardly. “Umm…I’m gonna go over here.”

I walked across the room to one of the display cases nearest the door. I started looking at a lovely antique sword. It was one of those Japanese ones nerds went crazy over. And anthropologists, apparently. It appeared to be gold plated. Nice. The label under it said “Katana, 16th century.”

It was practically begging me to pick it up and swing it around, but it was in a glass case, and had a “DO NOT TOUCH” sign under it. Picking up an artifact that old was probably a bad idea anyway. So I continued strolling around the first floor, glancing at Kiyo’s corner every few minutes. He was still there. After about fifteen minutes, I walked back over there to see how he was doing.

The anthropologist was still seated against the cabinet, but his neck was up straight, and he had regained his composure. He stared ahead morosely as if waiting for death.

“Thank you for not touching the katana,” he said, still a bit sniffly. “You’d be…” He blew his nose on a handkerchief. “…surprised how many people I have had to stop. Every time someone touches it, the gold leaf comes off.”

“Let me guess. Kaito?”

He let out a dry chuckle, still looking off into space. “Kaito picked it up right in front of me last week. After I had already told everyone not to touch it. He said it was so badass he couldn’t help himself.”

I giggled. “Good old Kaito. He would totally do that.”

“I said if he didn’t put it back immediately, I would tear out his nerves.”

The way he said it was a little creepy, but it was hilarious coming from such a tiny person. He wasn’t going to be tearing out anyone’s nerves at that size. Sitting next to Kiyo with my back to the cabinet, I stifled a laugh. 

The olive clad figure looked up at me. “You really aren’t going to hurt me, are you,” Kiyo said in his quiet, breathy voice.

I made a face. “Of course not.”

“I’d be an easy victim for the killing game.”

“You definitely would.” We both knew I could squish him under my heel, or dice him like an onion, or do any number of horrible things quite easily. “Lucky for you, I’m not a murderous asshole. Most people here probably aren’t.”

“Don't be so sure about that,” Kiyo said darkly. Then his tone changed. “Are you trying to comfort me?”

“Well, yeah. I feel bad that this happened to you.”

“Thank you,” he said. “You seem like a kind person. You and my sister would get along.”

“Aww, thanks.” He seemed to be in a better mood thinking about his sister. He must really miss her. “Believe it or not, I’m pretty into anthropology too.”

“I saw you in here once before,” he observed. “You asked me about that 13th century scroll.”

“The paintings on that are beautiful. Yeah, there’s some awesome artifacts in here. It’s like a museum… I don’t know which lab’s the coolest, this one or the Art lab.”

“It is remarkable. Whoever built this, it’s better stocked than some university labs. But I don’t get a lot of visitors in here. A lot of people find this floor…creepy.”

“It is kinda creepy, but I think it’s cool. There’s so much stuff to learn in here.”

Kiyo looked up at me. His mouth was covered by that black mask, but his eyes seemed to be smiling. Somehow, the vibe of our conversation had changed. 

“I apologize for…panicking earlier. What the mask has done cannot be undone. There’s no sense worrying about my fate if I can’t change it.” I looked at him. Kiyo had never seemed the superstitious type. But somehow, standing in front of that mask, he had shrunk right before my eyes. I could hardly believe it. What was this “curse,” and had the mysterious relic really caused it?

“You clearly mean me no harm. You can touch me if you want to.”

I reached towards Kiyo very gently and stroked his back with my fingertip. He kept watching me, but seemed at peace. Or maybe just resigned to his fate. I took two fingers and stroked his delicate back again. He was so cute at this size. His little jacket looked quite elegant. Kiyo didn’t seem to mind me touching him – in fact, it felt like he was relaxing into it. 

Warm feelings flooded through me. I drew my hand back as he looked up again. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you, Kiyo,” I said. “I’ll take care of you while you’re stuck like this.”

“Thank you,” the anthropologist said. He smiled again with his eyes. “I very much appreciate it.”

Then his tone got serious. “We should probably get me out of here. If someone else were to come in, I’m vulnerable in this state.”

“Of course,” I said. “God forbid Kokichi or Miu should find you like this. Can I put you in my pocket?”

“You can.”

Kiyo lifted his black boots as I gently slid my right hand under him and put my left hand over it. His body felt light and warm in my palm. I was seized by an overwhelming urge to hug the tiny passenger, but that might kill him. Instead, I brought my cupped hands upwards and pressed my cheek against them.

“Everything’s going to be fine, Kiyo,” I said quietly. For some reason, I felt like I could cry. “Don’t worry.”

He whispered something that I couldn’t hear.

I brought Kiyo to the chest pocket of my yellow and white striped shirt and opened my hand to let him in. Ignoring the fact that he would be right next to my boob the whole time, this seemed like the perfect spot to hide him. “Stay here til we get to my room,” I said. 

I strode through the lab door and into the fourth floor hallway with a grin on my face.

* * * * *  
The legend of the Mask of Judgment echoed in Kiyo’s mind. The legend said… _”The killer of innocents shall stand before this mask and be brought low. His body shall shrink away so that he is no longer a threat to anyone. To lift the curse, the killer must confess his crimes, allow true love into his heart, and kill no more.”_

It was supposed to just be a legend, but the curse was real. 

Korekiyo had no desire to confess anything. He’d done what he needed to for Sister, there was nothing wrong with that. He had no desire to stop killing, and besides, letting everyone know about his past during a killing game would be signing his own death warrant. And besides, Kiyo thought, he already had true love. His Sister was the only one he needed. But at this size, there was no way he’d be able to fulfill his promise to send her one hundred friends. He might as well just die now.

The curse was real…and it would never go away.


	2. Journey to the Dorm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our unnamed female student tries to transport tiny Kiyo back to the dorm before anyone sees him, but keeps running into chatty Ultimates. Sometimes literally.

I exited the Anthropology lab feeling excited. Korekiyo had mysteriously shrunk to tiny size in his own lab and I was the only one who could help him. He’d be staying with me until he returned to normal size. If he ever did. Kiyo sat in my right chest pocket as I walked through the school. 

I had just come down the stairs to the third floor when a hulking figure rounded the corner and collided with me. He dropped some books on the ground. Long, scraggly hair flew everywhere.

“OH! GONTA SORRY!” The Ultimate Entomologist looked alarmed.

“Oh don’t worry, it’s alright…”

“GENTLEMAN NOT BUMP INTO LADIES! Clumsy Gonta!” He pushed up his glasses.

“No really, it’s okay! Just an accident.” I leant down to help pick up his books, and brought my hand to my pocket to prevent Kiyo from falling out. “Here you go.”

Gonta smiled goofily and said, “Thank you for helping Gonta!” I was eager to get on my way, but before I could, Gonta lunged forward to give me a bear hug. I screamed, turned at the last minute so he only hugged my left side, then shoved his chest. He didn’t move just because I pushed him, of course-the dude was a wall of muscle-but he kindly stepped back. 

Gonta put his arms down, a mournful look in his eye. Even his crazy curly hair looked disappointed.

“No no, it’s not like that – I’d hug you, but there’s something in my pocket and I don’t want it to get squished!” 

“What is it?” Gonta asked curiously.

“It…..it’s a bug!” I exclaimed, saying the first thing that came to mind. _Oh great,_ I thought sarcastically. _Now he’ll want to see it!_

“WHAT KIND BUG IS IT?!” Gonta demanded, nearly hopping up and down with excitement.

“It’s…a caterpillar!” I cried. “A rare fuzzy caterpillar – I just couldn’t stand to see it get hurt! It was up in the fourth floor hallway, and I’m gonna go release it outside!”

“GONTA APPROVE! You very nice lady! Oh no…” he suddenly realized, throwing his hands in his hair. “Gonta almost squished bug!”

“It’s okay, Gonta! I’ve got to go now!”

“GONTA FOLLOW YOU? WATCH YOU SET BUG FREE?”

“Sorry. I just want to do this myself.” 

He looked crestfallen. “There not many bugs here…”

“It’s okay though! If I find another one, I promise to let you see it!”

“YAY!” He leapt in the air. When he returned to earth, it shook the entire hallway.

“I gotta go now! Bye Gonta!” I said, waving while making a hasty exit.

* * * * *  
“Jeez, that was a close one!” I exclaimed, looking down into my pocket. “I don’t wanna THINK about what could have happened! You okay?”

Korekiyo looked dazed. He picked up his hat and wiped sweat off his forehead. “The less we say about this, the better.”

I heard a classroom door clicking open. I flipped the top of my pocket shut and strode forward purposefully. Hopefully everyone else would pick up on the “don’t mess with me” vibe and not try to start a conversation.

Angie the Ultimate Artist walked out of the classroom. “Hellooo!” she sang brightly.

“Hi, Angie,” I said, stifling the urge to facepalm.

“You look so happy today! Have you finally decided to open your heart to Atua?!” 

“Not right now, Angie,” I said a bit brusquely. “Sorry, I got a nap to take.”

“You should join our group!” she cried, gesticulating like a cheerleader who’d had one too many cups of coffee. “We could use you! It’s a reeeally good group of people, we’ll be here if you ever decide to accept Atua into your heart!” 

“Okay,” I said. “See you later.” I faked a smile and kept going. “FFFFFFFFFuuuuuuuuuck you Angie...” I mumbled under my breath. 

I was shaken out of my thoughts by a weird chortle.

I looked down at my shirt pocket.

“Great, now _you’re_ laughing at me.”

* * * * *  
Hoping I had finally escaped my classmates, I pushed open the heavy wooden doors and stepped into the sunny courtyard. There it was. The dorm glimmered in the distance. I just had to make it there…

The Ultimate Detective’s voice called out across the lawn. “Hi, ________!” 

Oh no. Not another person wanting to talk…

“I figured since we have some free time, I’d come talk with you! What’s up?” he said with a cheerful smile. Normally I didn't mind talking with him, but I was going to have to skip it today.

“Look, Shuichi…I’d be happy to, but I really need to take a nap.”

“But I thought maybe we’d get a bit closer today…”

Was he hitting on me?

His expression became alarmed. He threw his hands up.

“No, not like that – I mean, unless you wanted it to be…” 

He was so adorably awkward. The poor guy was practically sweating Truth Bullets right now. Had a good head on his shoulders though.

“It’s fine, Shuichi. I’d be happy to talk with you, just not right now. I really need a nap.”

I wondered for the first time if he could keep a secret. Maybe, in case something bad happened, I should let someone know about Korekiyo…

No, it was too soon for that. But this was a killing game…and if worst came to worst and something terrible happened…I’d want to make sure my tiny guest was taken care of. 

“Okay, _______. See you later.”

At last, I arrived at the doors of the dorm. I went inside, feeling the cool rush of air, and ascended the staircase to my room. I unlocked the door, kicked off my shoes, and laid down on my bed. The gentle hum of the ventilation fan and the soft plushness of my bed were so relaxing.

Maybe I would take a nap.

I closed my eyes for a couple seconds, basking in the peace of solitude. Or almost solitude. I felt a tickle on my chest as Korekiyo emerged from the pocket. He crawled a bit and stood up, a little wobbly because of where he was. He put his arms out for balance for a moment.

“Hey, Kiyo.” I giggled. “We’re finally done being bothered.”

“Yes. That was quite a treacherous trip.”

He walked over to the middle of my chest where it was easier to get solid footing. I reached my finger over and petted his back again, then ran it along his side. He didn’t seem to mind. 

“You’re so tiny,” I said. “I still can’t believe how little you are.”

“It’s very strange,” he said. “But I should have known it would happen. The legend around that mask…well, if you want me to I’ll tell it to you later.”

My stomach rumbled a bit. Korekiyo looked down at the source of the noise. I said, “Hey, are you hungry at all?”

Kiyo’s eyes widened. I saw his brief expression of unease before he covered it up.

“Not like that! I’m not gonna _eat_ you, dude!” Then I looked at him mischievously. “Though I totally could if I wanted to.” I stifled the urge to pick him up and dangle him in front of my mouth. Scaring the bejesus out of this guy wouldn’t be very nice. He’d had a freaky enough day as it was.

Not that you could tell from his calm expression right now. “I could have some food.”

“Hmm. All I’ve got right now is this granola bar…guess that’s more than enough for you.”

“It’s better than some of the things I’ve eaten. This one remote tribe in the jungles of _______…”

I let him continue for a while as we shared the granola bar. After about five minutes I said “Nevermind, I’m not hungry anymore. Though it’s impressive how many things you can do with fresh invertebrates.” 

Kiyo chuckled. “Am I killing your appetite? I apologize.” He started laughing a lot more than usual, as if it was an inside joke.

Then I blurted, “How am I supposed to-“ What had flashed through my mind was, How am I supposed to kiss you knowing you’ve eaten grubs?! Wait, kiss? Did I want to kiss him?

Oh my god.

_How the hell would that even work? He’s like two, three inches tall! Four if we’re feeling generous!_

__

__

_And he’s Korekiyo, the creepy anthropologist! Well, he doesn’t seem so creepy as he did before…_

“How am I supposed to catch the grubs, let alone eat them?!” I saved. My face felt hot. Kiyo was inspecting me with an odd look on his face.

“It’s not as difficult as you might think. Grubs stay in one place, and they don’t move very fast…”

“Gonta would be horrified.” 

Eventually I started asking about the type of primates he’d seen in the jungle. I’d been interested in biological anthropology for a long time, and primates and human evolution were part of that. 

“I know you’re mostly a cultural anthropology guy, but this is up my alley. Did you see any gorillas or bonobos?”

“Bonobos?”

“Yes, the pygmy chimpanzees.”

“I don’t know much about them. They live in the same area that band I was studying was in, but we never saw any.”

“Well bonobos are really cool because they’re kind of the opposite of chimpanzees. But humans are equally related to both. Instead of being violent and starting wars with other groups of chimps, when bonobos meet other bonobos, they all come together and basically have a big orgy.”

“Interesting. Even if they’ve never met?”

“They diffuse tension not with intimidation and fights, but with sex. All combinations of genders…And if any male tries to hurt a female, all the other females band together and chase him away. Chimps have empathy too, but bonobos are the real masters of it.” 

“It’s strange that chimps would evolve in one direction, and bonobos in the other.”

“Some behavioral ecologists think it’s because chimps live in areas where food’s really spread out, while bonobos live in places with abundant food. So they have less pressure to constantly forage and more ability to enjoy each other’s company.”

“You know a lot about them. Have you seen them in the wild?”

“I mean, I know a little.” I said, hoping I hadn’t monologued too much. “Haven't done fieldwork though. I’m hoping to study biological anthropology in college.”

“If you want to, you should do it. Doing your own fieldwork is amazing." 

"Maybe when we all get out of here..." I trailed off. Thinking about the actual situation we were in was always depressing.

Kiyo brought me out of my thoughts with another question. "Which do you think humans are more like, chimpanzees or bonobos?”

“Overall, definitely chimps. Humans can be peaceful and kind sometimes, but we also do a lot of horrible things. We're a pretty fucked up species.”

"I'm inclined to agree. But despite all of our creative brutality, humanity is beautiful."

It turned out we both had the same dark and depressing view of human nature. Nice. 

After what felt like five minutes, but was actually an hour or two, Kiyo looked at me. “Well, as Shuichi is so fond of saying, ‘I got a little bit closer to you today.’”

I laughed. “You sounded just like him!”

We looked at one another again and my face started to feel hot. It was nice having someone to talk to about anthropology. Most students at this school didn’t even know what anthropology was. And I was beginning to notice how good looking he was. Korekiyo with his cute little outfit and his fieldwork...it would be so easy to just grab him and... _Oh come on, what's wrong with you? He's depending on you to protect him, not perv on him._ I said, “I’m going to put you on the nightstand while I take a nap.”

“I thought the “nap” comment was just to make Angie go away.”

I picked him up carefully and set him down while my heart skipped a beat. “Yeah, then I figured I could actually use one. Here, let me get you something soft to sit on. Are you gonna take a nap too?”

“There’s not much else to do.”

I felt bad for him. He must have noticed.

“And… a nap sounds quite pleasant.”

“Let me get you a shirt or something…a clean one.”

I folded the shirt over and over so it made a soft bed. “There!”

He stepped onto it. “It should do.”

“Gee, thanks for the effusive praise. Don’t you know I worked all of 10 seconds making this?”

Kiyo took off his boots, then laid down on his makeshift bed. It was weird seeing him without the boots. He took off his hat and his dark silky hair flowed over the covers. He could be in an Herbal Essences commercial. _Hoo boy. That…is one attractive man._ I took my eyes off him, and my shoes off my feet, and lay down on my own bed. 

“Goodnight ______,” he said in that calm breathy voice.

“Goodnight Kiyo,” I replied. _Hope you get back to normal size soon._

I pulled the lamp cord and the lights went out.


	3. An Argument

After the nap, I got up as quietly as possible and went to the cupboard. I grabbed a bag of pretzels. I tried to open the bag quietly, but by the time I got back to my desk to sit down the anthropologist had woken up. 

“Hi, Kiyo,” I said from across the room.

“Ahhhh,” he groaned and stretched. _Guess it wasn’t just a dream._ “Good morning.” 

“Actually it’s good afternoon,” I said. “Time flies when you’ve been shrunken down to tiny size, right?”

“Don’t remind me.”

“Do you want some pretzels?” I asked.

Kiyo did. I broke them into tiny pieces for him. I did the same with the apples I ate afterward.

“Hey, ______?” he asked after swallowing some pretzel. 

“What is it?” I replied. 

He looked at me with a pensive expression. “Why are you helping me? I’d be an easy target for the killing game.”

I paused for a moment, then laughed. “Oh, _the easiest.”_

He said, “Murdering someone this size would be easy to get away with. I was bracing for it as soon as you found me.” He seemed genuinely curious why I hadn’t taken advantage of the opportunity.

I thought about it for a moment. “Kiyo, I don’t want to murder anyone. And seeing you like that…I dunno. It would have felt wrong to just leave you there.”

“That’s very admirable,” he said. I was basking in the little ego boost that gave until he said, “I don’t know if I would have done the same.”

“What the hell, Kiyo?!” I said. “You’re saying if you were in my shoes, you would have _killed somebody?”_ I frowned at him. 

Every other student had assumed he’d be a culprit shortly after we started the killing game. His military style outfit, strange interests and odd personality had put everyone off. I’d given him the benefit of the doubt and hoped he just seemed creepy, but who knows. Maybe he really was going to kill someone. At least, maybe he would have if he hadn’t shrunk like this.

“I don’t know,” he said, very calmly and logically. “I’m just saying, everyone has strong reasons to want to escape this situation. And this is a killing game, ultimately. Most of us aren’t going to make it.”

“That…that doesn’t mean we should just _succumb_ to their _fucked up rules!”_

Kiyo’s voice got louder and raspier. “I’m just saying, it’s a _killing game._ You’ve got to be realistic.” His eyes blazed. “None of us can fully trust each other if the conditions for winning require killing. Everyone becomes either a murderer, a victim, or a jury member who votes for execution. If things get desperate, who’s to say you won’t kill me?”

This guy and his stupid logic.

“I hope you didn’t mean that,” I said, feeling angry and hurt. Here Kiyo was talking about murder like it was perfectly reasonable. And after bringing him here safely, protecting him from others, and talking normally with him, he still didn’t trust me? That was cold. I left my room so I could go take a walk, leaving the anthropologist to munch pretzels on the nightstand alone.


	4. That Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our protagonist and Kiyo talk about their previous argument, then they do some more research at the lab and their friendship grows. That night, the protagonist has an unsettling nightmare.

The rest of the day was less crazy. When I got back to my dorm room, Kiyo looked over at me. The sight of him nibbling a gigantic pretzel the size of his arm was humorous.

“I apologize if my comments upset you,” Kiyo said. “but that’s how I see our situation. My comments about not trusting anyone were not meant to be personal.”

“I feel less upset about it now,” I admitted, sitting down on my bed, “but let’s just reiterate that no matter what type of killing game this is supposed to be, I’m _not_ going to murder you. Especially when you’re vulnerable like this. And with the help I’ve given you…it feels insulting to say that you still don’t trust me. I guess it makes sense though.”

“___________, I appreciate what you’ve done for me. It’s very altruistic of you. I do trust you more than the others at this point…but it is a killing game, so I hope you understand that I can never fully trust anyone.”

“Guess we’ll have to agree to disagree, then.”

“Indeed.”

We’d ended this argument on a much calmer note than last time. But I was curious about something.

“Hey, Kiyo, how’d your view of human nature get to be so dark?”

He looked at me with a far-off expression. “Experience.”

 _Maybe he got bullied at his last school. Or maybe he’d seen some shit in his fieldwork._ I didn’t press the matter.

Kiyo and I talked a little more about our respective lives, then on his request, I snuck Kiyo to the Anthropology lab mid-afternoon so he could do some research relevant to his interests. We went to the second floor so my tiny classmate would be harder to spot if anyone walked in. I looked at some artifacts, then read some of the books I’d checked out from the school library. 

During breaks in his work, Kiyo told me about some of the archaeological artifacts I was curious about on the second and third floors. 

“This one is from the 18th century.” He went into detail about the craftsmanship.

“How do you know all this stuff?!” I asked.

“Some of it’s previous knowledge, though a lot of what I know about these artifacts I’ve learned since we got here,” he admitted.

“So what you’re saying is, don’t be too impressed.”

“I’m not that much of a walking encyclopedia. If you dropped me in a random museum, I’d recognize some of the artifacts, but not in as much detail as the ones here.”

“I still think you’d have a good chance of winning Archaeology Jeopardy.” 

He chuckled a bit. “Archaeology Jeopardy – now that sounds like fun.”

I thought more about what he'd said yesterday. _The white mask…_

“When I first found you, you said that mask had cursed you. What did you mean?”

Kiyo looked at me with almost fear in his eyes. “That mask…there’s a legend about it.”

I laughed. "It feels like _everything_ in here has a legend attached.”

“This is different,” he said, and the tone of his voice had changed. “It’s said that it will curse someone who…who…”

I leaned in a little; his voice had gone quiet.

“I can’t tell you.”

It was driving me nuts not knowing what he was talking about, but I decided to respect his privacy.

“Alright. Suit yourself.”

He went back to his work, and I went back to reading my book.

After leaving the lab, I slipped Kiyo back into my pocket - I'd brought a jacket this time, and with him in my jacket pocket it wouldn't be so obvious I was carrying something - and talked with some of the other students. 

Himiko was the first one. She told me about her background in magic, though she never admitted that it wasn’t real. “They are NOT tricks! I told you, I’m a mage!” She was a nice enough person though, so I didn’t argue with her. As she went on about magic, my mind started drifting to thoughts of the killing game. After shrunken Kiyo (who hopefully no one would find out about), Himiko was the obvious choice for a victim. She was very petite and didn’t seem to have the most vigilant personality. I hoped nothing bad happened to her. I gave the magician a little book of magic spells I’d gotten from the MonoMono machine. “Oh, thank you!” she beamed. 

“More than a ‘nyeh’!” I said, gently ribbing her. “That must mean you really like it!”

“I do,” she said with a shy smile.

I also caught up with Shuichi for a bit. We discussed his Ultimate Detective work. Apparently, he still felt guilt over his first case. 

“You can’t beat yourself up about that,” I said. “The only one who should feel bad is the guy who committed the crime.”

“Yeah, but still…I can’t help my feelings. I tend to feel guilty easily.”

He started asking me about myself. Unlike everyone else here, I was a mostly normal student. I could play a few instruments, could draw decently, and had read some books about primates and evolution, but none of my skills were close to being Ultimate level. Being this school’s equivalent of the “Ultimate Lucky Student” was a rather humbling experience. At the end of our talk, Shuichi gave me a fancy new drawing pen that he’d gotten from the MonoMono machine (he was really into giving gifts) and I realized I hadn’t brought anything for him. 

“Oh, it’s fine,” he said, waving away my concern with a hint of embarrassment. “The important thing is, we got a bit closer today!”

Yep, that was Shuichi alright.

Not long after that, it was nighttime, and since the Student Council didn’t want anyone out at night, and I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers, I had gone back to my dorm room to sleep. 

“It’s unfair that they insist they’re the only ones allowed to go out at night,” said Kiyo as we both lay in our beds. “Though I can see why someone like Himiko would be in favor of it.”

“That’s true,” I said. “But it’s not like I ever walk around here at night anyway. It’s too creepy.”

“Well, nothing to worry about now,” he said with a little smile. I reached up my hand and shut off the light. His yellow eyes gleamed in the darkness for a moment before he rolled over to sleep.

The word “creepy” made me think about Korekiyo again. When this killing game had first started, and I’d met him the first couple of times, something about him unsettled me. But I'd misjudged him. He wasn’t so bad, I’d decided, and he was actually pretty cute. Especially at this size-he couldn’t be creepy if he tried. _He's just an anthropology nerd who's a bit of an odd duck,_ I thought as I drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *  
Korekiyo 

At 1 am, Korekiyo lay awake in his makeshift bed. Sleep had so far eluded him. He propped himself on an elbow and looked over at the giant girl, snoring softly under the dark blue covers of her bed. So kind of her to take him in. She wasn’t bad to look at, either. Not ravishingly beautiful, but cute. And apparently, she knew a little bit about anthropology herself. At least he was trapped in this state with a decent conversation partner.

Kiyo leaned back into the covers. He stared at the ceiling, calming his mind, trying again to tune into the right wavelength. But he couldn’t feel _her_ presence. 

A trickle of anxiety crept into his mind. He pushed it back. 

The night was still.

“Keiko?” he said, so quietly it was almost inaudible. “Sister?”

But there was only silence.

* * * * *  
The Girl

In my dreams, I was walking on the walkway outside the Academy at night. It was darker than it had ever been outside – almost pitch black, with no moon and only a couple tiny lamplights in the distance. There were no students to be seen. I was trying to find the dorm, but every time I turned a corner around the school building I seemed to get lost. Disoriented and anxious, I started to run. Suddenly, I rounded a particularly dark corner and practically jumped out of my skin. Korekiyo stood in front of me in the shadows, tall, eerie, almost pitch black except for his glittering eyes. It was like he’d been standing there waiting. Panic coursed through me. A blade flicked open in his left hand. There was no emotion at all in his terrifying eyes. Then, swift as a night bird, he sprang forward.

I screamed and jumped up just as the Monokuma announcement woke everyone.

“What is it?!” came Kiyo’s tiny voice from my nightstand. He appeared to have been startled awake, and was on edge. Seeing him like that brought me back to reality. “You don’t scream like that every time there’s a morning announcement, do you?” he gasped.

I took a few more breaths, trying to convince myself I was in the real world and not that dream.

“I had a nightmare… it was really scary…”

“What was it about?” he asked, holding his chest with his bandaged hand as he leaned towards me. He seemed not just curious, but concerned.

“I…I’d rather not talk about it.”


	5. Breakfast in the dining hall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyo doesn't show up to breakfast that morning. The other students start to wonder where he is.

That morning, everyone gathered to eat in the dining hall as usual (except Korekiyo, for obvious reasons.) We ate cereal and toast, reminiscing about the delicious breakfasts the Ultimate Maid used to make for us before she was executed. We tried not to think about how she died.

When my classmates wondered where the anthropologist was, I feigned confusion. “Haven’t seen him,” I said when people asked. 

“He’s probably planning something,” said Kokichi. “What a creep.”

“Takes one to know one, Kokichi,” said Kaito. “Besides, we shouldn’t assume things.”

“Degenerate males are always planning something!” exclaimed Tenko. “You can never let down your guard!”

“I wonder if he died,” said Himiko, sounding bored at the prospect.

“You guys, he’s probably just late,” I said. “It’s only been ten minutes.”

“I don’t think we need to worry about it,” said Shuichi, bringing a spoonful of Wheaties up to his mouth. “If we hadn’t seen him in several days, that’s when I’d start to worry.”

“Yeah! Who cares what he’s up to anyway?” said Kaito. 

“Probably jerkin’ the old gherkin!” cried Miu. “Ehehehehehahahahaha!” Snot flew out her nose.

Kaito and Kokichi snickered.

“Ugh,” Tenko said. “Don’t make us think about that.”

Maki gave Miu a withering look. “Do you want to die?”

The room fell silent for a few moments.

“What is ‘gherkin?’” wondered Gonta.

The room erupted in laughter.

“Nope, we’re NOT going there,” I said.

Shuichi facepalmed, red as a tomato.

“Oh my goodness,” said Tsumugi. She was blushing too.

“I admit that was funny,” said Tenko, covering her giggles. “Despite being a male, Gonta's just so…pure.”

Keebo looked confused. “Could you explain the humor of Gonta’s comment? And for that matter, Miu’s? I…can’t help but feel I am missing something.”

Miu had finally collected herself enough to speak. “Oh, I’ll explain it to you Keebo!" She leered at him. "Later, when I’m _changing your oil.”_

Everyone got back to their Wheaties and Froot Loops.

Obviously, Kiyo never showed up to the morning meal. Our classmates never saw him that day.


	6. Angie's Lab, and a Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Art at Angie's lab, a discussion about the paranormal, and a realization.

I decided to go to Angie’s lab that day. Ever since I saw that incredibly well stocked studio, I’d been itching to paint something. The Ultimate Artist was happy to lend me her art supplies. While she sculpted, I painted, and I steered the conversation away from Atua to ask about Angie’s art.

After a while, Angie walked across the airy room to grab some more supplies. Kiyo said just to me, “Hey. Nice painting. Those shadows look really lifelike.”

I smiled at him, feeling like I might blast off through the ceiling.

_Play it off casually!_

“Thanks dude,” I whispered. “I’m not as good at art as Angie, but I enjoy making it.”

“Dude?”

Kiyo had a funny look on his face. “I don’t think anyone’s ever called me ‘dude.’”

He was right, I couldn’t picture that either. “I call everyone dude. But if you prefer, I can call you ‘in-group member’ or ‘conspecific.’”

“Kehehe. Or as that one village liked to call me, ‘pale demon.’” 

I giggled. “Ooh, edgy.” His yellow eyes smiled at me. God damn it, he was too cute.

“What should I call you?” Kiyo asked, tapping one of his bandaged hands on the interior wall of the pocket. I could feel it on my chest through the thin fabric. _Please, heart, don’t skip a beat. He’ll hear._

“I don’t know. Half-ass of all trades?”

We both laughed.

“You’re too hard on yourself.”

A voice from across the room. “What is so funny? Is my art filling you with joy?”

“Definitely, Angie! Makes me happy just to look at it.”

I looked down at Kiyo again. He had a little smile on his face.

An hour into our art making time, Angie started making moaning noises. She seemed to be enjoying her sculpting a little too much.

“Umm, Angie?”

“Atua is coming down to speak through me! This is how I make all my art!”

I didn't quite know what to say. “Wow, you’re really getting into it! You…must be one of Atua’s favorites!”

Then she sat on the floor and prayed for a bit.

After about five more minutes, I asked if I could leave my painting there to come back to later. 

“Certainly! It is not just my lab, it is for all to use!”

“You're so kind! See you later.”

We headed to the anthropology lab again so Kiyo could do what he enjoyed.

“Her sculptures are seriously amazing,” I said.

“They are quite beautiful. I can see why Angie is the Ultimate Artist,” said Kiyo in my pocket.

“I guess it’s not so weird she says all that stuff about Atua while she’s sculpting. Lots of famous artists say they’re inspired by God. But she gets really into it.”

“She’s deeply committed to the concept of Atua, isn’t she?” asked Kiyo.

“She sure is.”

“Are you religious?” Coming from him, the question didn’t feel intrusive.

“Not really. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything after death.”

“Really?” Kiyo asked, leaning forward with a researcher’s interest. “What makes you say that?”

I looked up a few times to make sure no one saw me talking to my chest.

“No offense if you’re religious, but…how _could_ there be a soul? If your personality’s in your brain, and damage to your brain can change your personality, then…you _are_ your brain. There doesn’t seem to be any room for a soul.”

“So you’re a radical empiricist.”

“Well, that’s just my opinion. Naturally I think all other opinions are wrong, but I’ll be polite.”

“Kehehe,” he chuckled, shaking his head slowly. “Oh, modern humans. With our scientific knowledge, we think we know everything, enough to discount even the _possibility_ of the supernatural. Were you raised religious?"

"I was, but it didn't stick. How about you? Do you believe in the supernatural?”

“I do. I’m not religious, but I believe in spirits. This life can’t be the end," he said fervently. "I _know_ it’s not the end.” He told me about a near-death experience he’d had. It was quite the story.

“A really blunt scientist would say that’s just an anecdote. From a sample size of one.” 

He seemed offended. 

“I’m just saying! If I was a scientist. Which I’m not.”

“You’re right, it is an anecdote. But it’s not just that experience. I also have had…encounters…with spirits. My sister…she passed away several years ago.”

"I'm really sorry to hear that." Strange - the way he’d talked about her before implied she was still alive.

“She…meant a lot to me. Whether or not you believe it, from time to time…I’ve been able to communicate with her spirit. Sometimes spiritual things happen that we cannot explain.”

This was clearly very personal to Kiyo, so I tried to be respectful. “That seems like a really awesome experience. Maybe it would be different for me if I’d had experiences like that. Maybe all this spiritual stuff is real. I...just don’t think there’s evidence enough for me personally to believe in it. No offense.”

"How would you explain my curse?"

I stopped. I'd kind of hoped he wouldn't bring that up. "I have no idea. It's got to be some kind of technology or something, right? There's no way curses are real."

"And yet, here I am."

What could I say to that?

Korekiyo said, "To be fair, I don't usually believe in artifacts having magical powers. If every sacred cup or magic talisman did what it was purported to do, the world would be full of miracles. But clearly, it isn't. Superstition and legend are ingrained in humanity. Much of the time, just because we want to believe doesn't mean we should believe."

I pushed a little. "I could say the same about your belief in spirits." 

What a strange duo we were. A regular sized girl, and a four inch tall boy (who'd been shrunk in front of a supposedly cursed mask), arguing about whether the supernatural existed.

“Like we said yesterday…let’s agree to disagree. Though this has been a fascinating discussion. If you go to college after this, perhaps you'll become a scientist.”

"Maybe," I said. "I'm interested in primates, but I don't really know if I want to study them. I'm kind of terrified one of our closest hominin relatives might tear my skin off."

"That wouldn't be good," he admitted. 

I paused for a moment.

"Kiyo, I'll be honest. With that mask, and this crazy thing that's happened to you, I'm not even sure what's real anymore. I just hope you get back to normal before anything bad happens."

So did the anthropologist. But he didn't seem optimistic about it.

After our time in the Art lab, I talked with some other students, then Kiyo and I went to the library. I checked out some books that each of us wanted to read. As I walked back to the dorm with my stack of books, the sun was going down. It was only when I got to my room that I realized I was ravenously hungry. I didn’t want to be walking around in the dark later, so went for an early dinner. It was getting too chilly for just my tee shirt, jacket and skirt, so I put on my heavy coat. I brought my little passenger with me in my coat pocket because why not? Plus, I was starting to feel very protective of him. 

I’d had Kiyo with me so much lately that the thought of leaving him in my dorm room while I left to go anywhere was starting to make me irrationally nervous. It seemed perfectly safe in my room, but what if someone were to break in? I’d picture the door opening, Kiyo desperately trying to flatten himself against wherever I’d put him so he wasn’t seen, then a dark silhouetted hand reaching in to grab him. Even aside from my paranoia, it just felt better with Kiyo around. 

_Of course you feel better with your crush around._

Shut up, brain. I do not have a crush on Kiyo. He’s just smart, and knowledgeable, and…he’s got great hair…

_You totally do._

I could no longer deny it to myself as I walked across the courtyard to the dining hall. _But you can’t tell Kiyo you like him. Everything's been going great, you don’t want to perv on him and make things weird._

I didn’t notice until later that Kiyo had fallen out of my pocket.


	7. On the Ground

“Aggkh!” Kiyo cried as he hit the pavement head over heels and rolled to a stop. His head had gotten a good knock. He held it for a moment, then glanced back up as the girl. He caught a brief glimpse up her skirt as her giant footsteps retreated into the distance.

“Hey! You dropped me!” Korekiyo shouted. 

Apparently ----- hadn’t heard him. She didn’t even realize he had fallen out of her pocket. 

Well, this put a wrench into things. 

He scanned the courtyard, but no one was visible. _This is only a minor problem,_ he thought. All I have to do is wait until she comes back and then I’ll get her attention. All of a sudden he heard the dorm doors opening. 

Kiyo stepped quickly into the grass by the side of the walkway and crouched, hoping not to be seen. Shuichi, Kaito, and Maki emerged from the dorm and began walking to the side of the courtyard. What could they be doing at such a late hour?

Observation was what Korekiyo did best. Even as a child, Kiyo had had a quiet, calm personality and a dark sense of humor that his classmates found off-putting. Instead of playing kickball or make-believe, Kiyo spent an inordinate amount of time observing and learning. Watching his classmates form their social groups, watching anthills grow as the ants crawled in and out of the cracks in the pavement, sitting under the playground equipment reading the library’s copies of National Geographic. From time to time, Kiyo had a playmate or two who weren’t put off by his eccentricities, but most of the time he preferred to observe the world rather than participate in it. When his mother remarried, the violence he witnessed from his stepfather caused Kiyo to withdraw even further from the world. Sister was his only real friend. When she died, Kiyo threw himself headlong into anthropology. He honed his social skills as a teenager, but remained at his core a curious introvert, one who desperately wanted to get away from home. Fieldwork let him escape and immerse himself in other cultures for weeks at a time. 

As he grew, Kiyo gained more experience observing in several contexts: while examining artifacts, while conducting anthropological research, and in the more mundane logistics of how to acquire more friends for Sister. After she died, he had promised to send her one hundred girls to be her friends in heaven. He had to keep his promise.

However, the past couple of days, he’d had trouble contacting Sister. Her spirit just wasn’t speaking to him. And somehow, he seemed to be losing sight of his goal. He thought of the plan he’d been about to enact right before the Mask of Judgment had defied the laws of physics and shrunk him. When he’d planned it all out on the blueprints- the cage, the sickle, the elaborate seesaw effect - he’d felt excited and proud, but now all the plan brought to mind was a faint sense of disgust.

For now, Kiyo sat motionless as he watched the three students talking. He could make out a few words before they got on the grass and started doing sit-ups. This apparently was a routine. The dining hall’s exterior door opened far across the lawn and Kiyo noticed ------- coming out. She’d evidently noticed he was no longer in her pocket and was scanning the walkway for him. Kiyo looked back over at the group working out. He had to get the girl’s attention but couldn’t let the others see him.

Suddenly, The Ultimate Supreme Leader burst out of the main school doors. His purple hair flew up and down on his white jacket. This was not good. The girl was coming up the walkway closer to Kiyo’s position, still looking side to side at the ground, when Kokichi bounced up to her. 

“Whatcha looking for?” he smiled slyly.

“Nothing important,” she said, trying to brush him off. “Don’t worry about it.”

“It must be important, otherwise why are you looking for it?”

“I lost an earring. One of my blue and gold ones.”

Kokichi squinted. “Let me see the other one.”

She reached up to show him her left ear and he brushed her hair away on the other side to notice that she still had the right one. “HAHAH! You’re lying! You didn’t lose an earring at all!”

She shoved his hand away. “Don’t touch my hair!”

Down from his vantage point, Korekiyo bristled. _That little jerk. I’d love to slit his throat, but then Sister would have to deal with him._

He pushed her hand back and giggled. “Nee-hee-hee! If you’re gonna lie a lot, like I do, you need to learn to get better at it!”

 _If everyone knows you lie, you’re not a good liar,_ Kiyo thought. 

The girl told Kokichi, “You’re right, I didn’t lose an earring. I lost something else, but it’s none of your business.”

“I can help you look for it,” he said with a shit-eating grin.

“No thanks, I’m good.” She said it with that clipped politeness that meant fuck off.

Kiyo crawled farther back into the grass. Kokichi looked at the sidewalk with great interest for a couple of minutes, but didn’t seem to find anything. ----- kept looking for Kiyo, but didn’t move any closer down the sidewalk towards his position. Hopefully Kokichi wouldn’t stumble upon him before she did. 

Fortunately, it wasn't long until the Ultimate Supreme Leader got bored and strolled back to the dorm. He looked back at the girl, then went through the doors shaking his head. Kiyo crawled closer to the sidewalk. He was camouflaged enough by the grass to not be concerned about the workout crew seeing him. 

When the girl approached within a couple feet, Kiyo yelled “HEY!” She startled and spotted him. Kiyo glanced up at the dorm to see Kokichi staring in their direction from the second floor windows. The anthropologist felt a prickle of nerves. This would be tricky. 

Kiyo enunciated calmly to the girl, “KOKICHI’S WATCHING – DON’T LET HIM SEE ME.”

Her eyebrows flew up. She reached down, unobtrusively cupped him in her hands and put him into her pocket.

From above, Kokichi noticed the girl pick up something dark from the grass by the walkway. He couldn’t see what it was, but could tell she didn’t want anyone else seeing it.

 _Ooh, a secret! What did she drop? It could be a hundred dollar bill, or a love note…even evidence in a murder!_ Her general aura didn’t scream murderer, but then again neither had Kirumi’s or Kaede’s. Who knew. Whatever this secret was, he’d have to find out.


	8. Warming Kiyo Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girl takes Kiyo in out of the cold and warms him up. They kiss, and things escalate.
> 
> Vore is teased, but doesn't actually happen.

I grabbed Kiyo from the grass by the walkway and pocketed him. Why’s he so cold? I wondered. It wasn’t that frigid outside. I strode through the dormitory doors and was greeted by a welcome rush of heat. _Time to get Kiyo in here and warm him up._

Kokichi was standing by the stairs nonchalantly. 

_Oh crap._ That little twerp hadn’t seen what I’d picked up – had he?

“Sooo what’ve you got?” Kokichi asked, casually leaning on the banister. 

“I told you, it’s none of your business.”

“Well…congratulations on finding it.” There was a chilling tone in his voice.

I put my hand slowly into my pocket then walked up the stairs. I acted casual, but was prepared to run if he tried to forcefully discover the contents of my pocket.

I couldn't relax until I was back inside my room and the door was locked. The bed was soft and welcoming.

“Oh my God!” I said to Kiyo. “You’re so cold! I’m gonna warm you up.”

I took him in my hands and held them together. His body was shivering.

“I know what’s going on with you! It's not that cold outside, but your surface area is off…like how small dogs get too cold and too hot more easily than big dogs. You’re really small right now, and it is cool outside…” I was rambling, but didn’t care.

“Th-that must be it. Wait, are you c-comparing me to a chihuahua?” he said.

I smiled, rubbing his back to warm up his little body. 

“Jeez, you’re still freezing.” I brought him up to my cheek and let my heat suffuse into him for a few seconds. 

“F-feels better already.” He extended an arm and held my cheek with it. It was an unexpectedly tender gesture. Maybe he was just trying to warm up his arm, I didn’t know.  
On impulse, I brought him to my lips and gave the side of his face a quick kiss. 

A jolt of happiness went up my spine. I brought him back in front of me. 

“You’re okay Kiyo! Sorry you fell, and I didn’t even notice...if something happened, I’d feel so bad…”

I looked down at where he lay in my palm. His face had gone a bit pink. Well, he was cold. And maybe I freaked him out with the kiss. He glanced at me, stared down to the side, then looked back over.

There was a nervous look in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before. 

It was almost as if he was – 

No way. It couldn’t be…could it?

Was he _blushing?_

“That was very…sweet.”

I smirked at the incoming pun. “Well, we can’t have you freezing into an anthropopsicle.”

Kiyo facepalmed as he chuckled at my stupid pun. His laugh sounded like someone giggling while being strangled. Every time I heard it, I cracked up too. 

“Do you know what I’ve noticed about you?” he said. “Every time emotions get involved, you make a joke.”

I realized it was true. My face started to feel hot.

_Emotions._

The air in the room had become electric. Kiyo started moving closer to the edge of my palm with an intense look in his eyes. I brought my head closer to see what he was going to say. Then Kiyo moved in, tore off his black face mask to reveal lips lined with crimson, and gave me a kiss.

My eyebrows just about hit the ceiling. Korekiyo was kissing me. _Holy shit._ And it felt amazing.

Anyone seeing this scene would have been struck by the weirdness of a three to four inch tall boy kissing a regular sized girl, but it felt perfect. It felt like I’d been hit by lightning. I had the crazy urge to tear off his clothes and lick him all over. 

Kiyo pulled away. “Years ago,” he said slowly, “I made a promise to somebody. But…I don’t think I can keep that promise anymore.” As if it pained him to say it, he said “And I think…I think I’m falling for you.”

It was unlike him to be so dramatic. He seemed to be as bewildered as I was.

“You sure it’s not Stockholm syndrome?” I joked. 

“I’m serious.”

A promise? To whom? What was Kiyo talking about?

Actually…I didn’t care. I looked at him, deciding to be honest with him and with myself. “I wouldn’t normally say this so soon, but I think I’m starting to like you too.” His confession had emboldened me. “What the hell. We’re in a killing game, might as well say it now.”

Kiyo’s yellow eyes blazed with desire. “Then…let me give myself to you,” he said breathily. 

“Oh God yes,” I breathed, kissing him again. ”I want you…but _how?!”_

Kiyo kept caressing my fingers. “I’m sure we’ll think of something,” he said conspiratorially.

My heart was jackhammering with excitement. I really wanted to do things with him, but in his present state that could be dangerous. “You’re like 3 inches tall right now. I don’t want to hurt you.”

He placed a bandaged hand against his cheek and gave me that smoldering look of his. “It doesn’t matter.”

What the hell. I kissed Kiyo fiercely, and he returned it with vigor. He pushed himself against my lips while I explored his whole face. I reached my other hand around and ran it through his long black hair, down his back and over his legs. He had a tight butt. I gave it a little smack with my finger. Kiyo gasped. His arms flew up to hug my face. It would have been a bizarre sight, but we were in heaven.

“Mmm…so aggressive…” he purred.

I brought my tongue into the action. I could feel his tongue too, puny against mine. Warmth was spreading through my entire body.

“You taste good,” I whispered. “And the red lips are very sexy.”

"Your lips..." he said, "were _made_ for kissing."

Kiyo began to grunt like he wanted more. I gave his well-formed booty some more spanks. He pressed himself against me urgently.

I gave a low giggle. “What do you want, Mr. Anthropologist?”

“I want you to put me in your mouth,” he hissed. 

“Yeah?”

“Oh, yes…put me in your mouth and play with me. I’m a masochist,” he explained. “Throw me around– torture me a little - make me think you’re going to swallow me.”

This was really turning me on. I picked him up by his olive coat and dangled him in the air. 

“Oh yeah. You’re sure looking like a snack right now. I’ll try not to accidentally eat you.”

“Put me inside,” Kiyo breathed. “I _need_ it.” The once-intimidating anthropologist looked hilarious dangling from my fingertips, begging to be put in my mouth. He really was helpless.

“That’s what guys always say,” I said. _Not that I have much personal experience._

Korekiyo looked desperate. Okay, enough letting him beg. I opened my mouth, lowered him towards it and sucked him in wetly. 

Feeling his little head and limbs go in almost sent me over the edge immediately. The anthropologist moaned in pleasure. 

“Take off your clothes,” I whispered. I felt him bend over and take off his pants. Then his underwear, hat, and shirt. I opened my mouth and he threw the items out. An onlooker might have found it hilarious as tiny clothes flew out of my mouth. Last to go were those bandages that were always wrapped around his hands. I thought to myself, _he probably won’t be able to find any more bandages in his size. Wonder why he always wears them. Are his fingers deformed or something, or is it just to look badass?_

_If he was at normal size right now, there’s some things those fingers could do…_

Kiyo finished stripping, and my tongue pressed against his ribs. Oh, he tasted good.

I drew my tongue all over his torso and giggled as I brought it down to his crotch. Then I played with his ass cheeks. His hands went to his cock. He was definitely enjoying himself. My tongue snaked up his back and felt his shoulders. Oh god. Kiyo tasted incredible. I threw him from one side of my mouth to the other, roughly. Something told me to just roll his limbs into a little ball and swallow him whole…to feel him struggle as he went down my throat…

_Would he scream?_

I realized I’d never been so wet before. 

The thought of what I could do to Kiyo right now scared me. Gently I dropped him out of my mouth into my hand. He looked as if he’d been skinny dipping, or if a whole bucket of water had been spilled on him. His eyes burned with lust. 

“Ahhh, just fucking _eat me,”_ he said luxuriantly.

I grinned at him. “Oh, come on. You don’t mean that.” 

“Seriously,” he said. “I don’t want to die, but if you ate me… at least I would die happy. There’s a lot worse ways to go. Oh, please, put me in your mouth again.”

Kiyo’s pleas did something to me. Dark, voluptuous thoughts swept through my mind. “I’d love to put you back in my mouth, Kiyo, but here’s what might happen. I’d put you in there, and play around with you, and then…just when it was about time to let you out, I’d swallow you whole. Your little limbs would flail, you’d try to escape, but you wouldn’t have a chance. No one would hear you scream as you went down my throat. No one would even know you’d died. Poor little Kiyo, nothing but a snack.”

Whoa, I’d kind of gone to the dark side there. But Kiyo looked so eager right now that it was almost funny.

Was he into vore? 

Wait, was _I_ into vore?

“That…was so… _evil,”_ he smiled.

“You really are a little masochist, aren’t you?”

He leapt forward with an intensity that might have been frightening at normal size. “Degrade me, hurt me, do with me what you will…I want you,” he said. Then he threw his arms open in a gesture of oneness with the situation, and relaxed back into my palm. 

Every part of him was slick and wet.

I brought him up to my lips one more time, licking and kissing him. Delicious. “Mmm, sweet little Korekiyo,” I breathed, and he made a sudden gasping noise, gaping at me with shock and desire. 

_“How did you know-“_

“Oh, I _know_ things,” I said, cutting him off. “I know the perfect place for you,” and stuffed him down into my panties before he could say another word. The Ultimate Anthropologist used to be an intimidating six foot two, but now here he was, getting shoved into my underwear like it was nothing. _So this is what they call a power trip. Now to-_

Just then there was a loud knock at the door, jangling my nerves. Kiyo stopped shifting around and listened.

“Not right now!” I said. 

“-----? Are you there?” It was Kaito.

“I said, NOT RIGHT NOW!”

“Ughh…” Kiyo moaned, covering his ears from my shouting. 

“SORRY KIYO!” Oops, I may have said that too loudly. “I’ll talk quieter…”

“Wait…Did you say Kiyo? Is HE in there?!”

Kaito’s voice was edged with disbelief.

“No he’s not! He’s not anywhere! I mean, he’s definitely not in here!”

“Ooh la la,” said Kaito. There were a couple seconds of silence. When he spoke again, it was quieter. “Wait, he’s not anywhere? You didn’t, like…” _No, I didn’t murder him!_

I felt furious.

 _“No!_ And he’s not in here, I’ll prove it!”

With Kiyo firmly ensconced in my panties, I flipped my skirt back down and strode over to the door, opening it defiantly.

Kaito stammered, “N-No, I’ll take your word for…”

“Kiyo’s not here, Kaito! See for yourself!”

He looked around, jaw hanging open. “If you guys were in here, that’s okay. It’s none of my business, everyone’s just wondering where he is…”

I invited him in. He looked in the closet, behind the bed…it soon became evident that there was no place for Kiyo to hide. Except in my underwear, I thought, and stifled a giggle. Kiyo moved a little downstairs. He must be getting a little wet down there.

Kokichi exclaimed from right behind me, “Ooh, are you looking for the creeper in chief? I wouldn’t expect to find him here.”

I turned around and frowned at him.

“You know what they say though-losers attract!” Kokichi giggled like it was the funniest joke ever.

He had the most punchable face.

Kaito said, “Well, I’m starting to wonder about that guy. No one’s seen him for a couple days.”

Kokichi said brightly, “He’s prob’ly somewhere planning his first kill!”

“Speak for yourself,” I told the little jerk. “I have no idea where Korekiyo is. I was just getting ready for bed. Can you both just let me sleep?”

The Ultimate Astronaut looked embarrassed. “Sorry about that. I shouldn’t’ve bothered you. If he was in here, I guess that woulda been none of my business anyway.”

“Why’s your face so red?” chirped the Ultimate Supreme Leader.

I tried to ignore his comment.

Kokichi suddenly got an idea. He grinned. It was a slow and twisted grin, like the Grinch who stole Christmas. 

“Wait…I know what must’ve happened. You were thinking about that _weirdo_ while you…”

“Get out!”

Kaito and Kokichi walked out. Kokichi was giggling. The Ultimate Astronaut's peeved voice said, “God damnit Kokichi, why you always screwing around? You don’t say that stuff to a lady! You know what you need?!”

The next thing I heard was the Ultimate Supreme Leader shrieking while Kaito chased him down the stairs.

I suddenly felt a very small, very delicate lick in a very sensitive place.

_Ooh._

I flopped back onto my bed and lifted back my panties. Kiyo was alive and kicking in there. “Shame about that interruption. But what a lovely place to wait.”

“Okay, the idiots are gone. Where were we?”

“You should take that skirt off.”

I made a pointing gesture like Shuichi. “I agree with that!” 

"You want me to think about _Shuichi_ right now?"

"On second thought, no."

After taking off my skirt and watching Kiyo shuffling about in my panties, I said, “There’s something I’d like you to do for me.”

Kiyo crawled up out of the waistband. I caressed his naked back. “Whatever it is, I’ll do it,” he said in a sensual voice. 

“You may be small,” I said, “But there _are_ some things you can do for me even at that size.” 

* * * *  
A while later…

We lay in bed together exhausted and very happy. “Kiyo, you must have gotten some practice while traveling around the world. No one’s ever done _that_ to me before. Of course, my sample size is pretty small…” His tiny body was up on my chest now, caressing me. He chortled quietly. Kiyo’s whole body was even wetter than it had been earlier. I was considerably wetter, too.

“You’re amazing,” the anthropologist said. 

“Thanks,” I said, not quite knowing how to respond. “Like I said, you weren’t so bad yourself.”

A minute or so passed while he continued to caress me, and I stroked his little back. His ribs were like needles in that impossibly small chest, and his skin was so pale it was almost pearlescent. Weird faded scars crisscrossed his back, and there were some strange lines on his torso that looked like cut marks. Even his wrists had some odd marks on them, as if he’d been burned or something. One of his fingers appeared to have been broken at some point. It was all fascinating. It gave me an overwhelming desire to protect him.

But I didn’t want to act too clingy.

“What are these from?” I asked. 

“Some of them are from that incident I told you about,” he said. “Others are from some of my recreational activities.”

“Recreational activities?”

“Like I told you before…I’m a sadomasochist. Ropes…whips…knife play…the sensations and feelings they evoke are beautiful. To surrender control can be nearly a religious experience.”

The sensual way he described those “recreational activities” made my spine tingle. In a good way.

“That sounds awesome,” I said. “I don't like pain, but I could see myself getting tied up by you. As long as you promised not to hurt me. Though tying you up and whipping you sounds even more fun.”

Korekiyo laughed. “I wouldn’t hurt you unless you wanted me to. You were power tripping a bit back there, weren’t you?”

“I was,” I smiled.

“And I’m not going to lie, the way you just picked me up and had your way with me at the end was so sexy.”

I told Kiyo that his “extracurriculars” sounded exciting. He lamented that at his present size, it wouldn’t be possible to do those things with me. But he divulged that what we had just did had been one of the best experiences he’d had. “Being played with by someone a hundred times my size…now that is true submission.”

“It was awesome for me too. Not to rub it in, and I feel really bad about your curse, but…right now, seeing your six foot two self reduced to this is really hot.”

All of a sudden, Kiyo seemed like he was struggling to say something. When he spoke next, it was in a reflective tone.

“I’m glad I met you. And…thanks for taking care of me.”

I grinned. “Oh, I took care of you alright.”

“You sound like Miu right now.” He said it drily, but there was a little smile on those red lips.

“If you weren’t like three inches tall right now, I’d punch you.”

“I will say this. You did a fantastic job of warming me up.”

I giggled. His tiny form lay prone on my chest, gazing up at me. I kissed him again.

We basked in the glow as the moon rose in the sky.


	9. Where's Kiyo?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Kiyo doesn't show up to breakfast for a second time, suspicions abound. Shuichi notes that a weapon is missing from the Anthropology Lab.

The next morning, when Kiyo didn’t show up to breakfast for a second time, I pretended to be just as worried as everyone else. I’d secretly brought him to breakfast this time, since why not. Breakfast this time was waffles, a real improvement from the cereal we ate yesterday. Their steamy, buttery aroma made my mouth water. 

Everyone was assembled in the dining hall. Even Kiyo, secretly sitting in my pocket.

“I’m starting to be concerned,” said Shuichi.

“Uggghh,” whined Kokichi. “This again?”

Maki spoke tersely. “Who saw him last?”

“I saw him walking around the fourth floor hallway…I think it was three days ago,” said Angie. “He seemed surprised to see me, but….my lab’s on that floor too!” 

“What was he doing?” Shuichi asked.

“Well, it’s funny. He looked like he was going to go into one of those three creepy rooms, then I saw him and said hi, then he looked like he’d forgotten something and went back to his lab.”

“What was in there?”

“Oh, nothing exciting. Just a dusty dark room. But I wasn’t afraid to look in there because Atua watches over me! He will protect you too if you let him into your heart!”

“Where was Atua when Ryoma got murdered?” grumbled Maki.

“Guys,” Kaito said. “Let’s not get in another religious argument!”

Shuichi seemed deep in thought. He turned to me. “Hey, didn’t you go to the anthropology lab a couple days ago? Was he in there?”

It turned out the time I had gone to the lab, and the whole incident began, was shortly after Angie had seen him. I acknowledged that Kiyo had been in there. However, I told everyone that I left while the anthropologist was still in there. I couldn’t tell them I had carried him out of the room in my pocket.

“Oh please,” Kokichi groaned. “Why does anyone actually care where that guy is? I wish he’d just go away.”

I started to feel bad for Kiyo, who was sitting in my jacket pocket right now.

Himiko squinted at Kokichi. “Your comment is veeery suspicious. You wouldn’t have anything to do with-”

“Psh,” Kokichi said. “I didn’t kill him. I’m sure he’s skulking about somewhere.”

“Korekiyo gives me the creeps,” said Tenko.

Tsumugi chimed in. “He _doesn’t_ really have any redeeming qualities,” she said matter-of-factly.

Several people giggled a little, shocked at the Ultimate Cosplayer’s bold statement.

“Wowww,” I said. “That’s _cold!_ I can’t believe you said that.” 

Shuichi looked uncomfortable. “He’s one of our classmates. We shouldn’t be badmouthing each other, okay?”

Tsumugi shrugged. “Sorry.”

Miu shrugged. “You’ve all met the guy, right?”

This was frustrating me and couldn’t be much better for my passenger. “That’s a shitty thing to say. Everyone here’s weird in their own ways. Sure, Kiyo’s eccentric, but he’s not so bad. He’s smart, he’s calm under pressure, he’s…got some interesting stories…”

I realized I was blushing.

Tenko was looking at me with an expression usually reserved for degenerate males.

“He’s a total _psycho…”_ said Kokichi.

“Hey!" I exclaimed. "I went to his lab and I didn’t get murdered!”

"Atua would not approve of these comments," said Angie. "He wants us to love one another..." 

Shuichi spoke up. “C’mon, let’s stop talking about-“

“Ooh, she went to his _lab.”_ Miu leered. “What sort of ‘research’ did you two do in there? I bet he stuck his golden katana…”

"Seriously, Miu?" I interrupted. "That's not funny."

Several people were trying hard not to laugh, and were failing. There was even muffled giggling coming from my pocket. 

How was he laughing at a time like this?! Luckily, no one else heard it.

“Are you saying it’s like what you do with Keebo?” I blurted. “Cause I popped my head into your lab once, and those ‘oil changes’ you’re giving him? They didn’t look like oil changes to me!”

Miu looked shocked, then she frowned.

Kokichi made a particularly nasty comment to her.

Everyone started laughing again, but this time it wasn’t at me.

“That’s enough!” said Kaito. “Everyone stop talking shit!”

His booming voice made everyone pause.

Kaito continued, “We shouldn’t be trashing our classmates. Besides, I think my sidekick has something else to say.”

Shuichi looked embarrassed. He said, “The reason I’m asking is…Kiyo’s student handbook was found yesterday.”

“Huh?”

“It was in the anthropology lab.”

Oh, that’s right…I’d left it there when the incident with the mask had happened. And it wasn’t there when we’d gone back yesterday…Shuichi must have taken it.

“That’s strange,” said Maki.

“And something was missing from his lab,” said Shuichi. “When we were all in there a few days ago, there was something in one of the display cases that isn’t there anymore.”

_Wait, what?_

“A scythe,” Shuichi said. He turned to me. “You were one of the last ones in the lab. Do you know anything about that?”

* * * * *

Walking out of the dining hall that day was embarrassing. When I got to an empty hallway I said, “Sorry you had to hear that. After all the shit they were talking, I feel like taking a long soak in the hot tub. If anyone tries to murder me, I’ll bring my Mag-Lite.”

“You must have been embarrassed,” said Kiyo.

“Sure was.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you. And all those ‘creep’ comments…they’re not uncommon for me.” Kiyo said. 

I stopped and looked down into my pocket.

“I’m a creep," he said. "a weirdo…”'

“What the hell are you doing here?” I joked, continuing the song lyric. “You don’t belong here…”

He looked at me, confused. “I-Is that what you think?”

“No, it’s the song! You know, Radiohead?” _How can you not know Radiohead?!_

“It’s a song?”'

“You know, ‘Creep.’ You’d like it, it’s…” I didn’t know how to finish that sentence. He’d been roasted enough today. “Well, yeah, people think you’re creepy. With your whole…outfit, and personality…and everything.”

His eyes blazed. “How dare they make fun of my outfit. My Sister made it for me…!”

“Hey, I think it’s a sweet outfit. But you know how people are…”

“How dare they…”

“It’s not that though, it’s just…you do sometimes give off an odd vibe.”

He looked at me. I saw a flicker of sadness in his eyes.

“Do you find me creepy?” he asked slowly. Oh boy. How to answer this one…

“I’m…not gonna lie, the first few times I saw you, you know, I thought you were a little strange. But, now that we’re getting to know each other, you don’t seem so bad.”

He moved up closer to the top of the pocket and spoke honestly. “I’m aware my appearance and behavior may come off as creepy, or even that of a murderer. It's understandable for people to make such snap judgments during a killing game.”

“I don’t think you’re so bad. You haven’t murdered anyone here, so that’s good. And you’re…interesting.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Way to flatter a girl.”

“It’s true. You’re intelligent, and cute…”

I smiled, suddenly finding it hard to look at him. “Thank you.”

“You’re a _freak_ in bed…”

I blushed. “So are you."

Kiyo grinned. “Bring your hand over here.”

I did. He moved towards it and, to my surprise, embraced it and gave it a kiss. 

My heart practically skipped a beat. “You’re making me all hot and bothered.”

Just then Kaito came bounding down the stairs ahead. Inside the pocket, I tried to dislodge Kiyo off my hand. During the struggle to remove him (which only lasted about two seconds), Kaito and I made eye contact. I finally succeeded in getting Kiyo off me and yanked my hand out of my pocket. Great, Kaito must think I’d been feeling myself up. 

“Uh, just adjusting some things…you didn’t see that!”

Kaito made an awkward look like “I saw nothing” and kept going down the hall.

I went into the ladies’ room and made sure no one was in any of the stalls. Then I continued talking to Kiyo.

“Listen, there’s something I need you to do,” Kiyo said. 

“Hmm?”

“That scythe they were talking about…I want to find it.”

“Wait, you didn’t move it? But it was in your lab.”

“I didn’t. But someone did. Maybe we should start by searching the fourth floor.”


	10. A Relaxing Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little relaxation before the search for the scythe begins.

Before beginning our search, I grabbed my swimsuit from my dorm room and Kiyo and I headed to the hot tub. 

I brought my Mag-Lite. An experiment on a documentary I’d watched, trying to prove it was feasible that the young son of a certain family might have committed murder, showed that even a small child swinging a Mag-Lite could break a watermelon (the watermelon being a stand-in for someone’s head). The kids had cheered as one of them managed to break the melon. Rather gruesome implications. I wondered if the investigators conducting the experiment had told the kids what the melon was standing in for. The whole thing was darkly humorous.

This wasn’t a story I would have told Shuichi or Himiko, but Kiyo was fascinated by it. We talked about it as we headed to the pool.

“So easy, even a child could do it. I see why you feel safer carrying that thing around,” he said. 

“Of course,” I continued, “if someone really wanted to get me, they’d probably figure out a way, Mag-Lite or no Mag-Lite. It’s a killing game. But I’m not going to deny myself the hot tub on the off chance of that!”

Just as I’d hoped, there were no other classmates in the pool. I started walking to the changing room, but remembering all the blind corners and places someone could hide in there, I veered away from it and decided to change right beside the tub instead. Luckily, no one walked in and saw me naked. When I was fully bare, reaching for my swimsuit, Kiyo said, “Beautiful.”

I laughed, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Thanks. You look…pretty handsome yourself.”

Kiyo had taken off his clothes too, stripping down to just his olive green underwear. 

“It’s cute how your undies match your shirt,” I said. 

“Haha, thank you. I don’t remember planning this at all.”

With Kiyo in my hands, I stepped into the hot tub. “Let me know if it’s too hot for you.” I immersed my hands, and my reclining passenger, slowly into the warm water. He sighed in contentment. “Ahh, so relaxing.”

“Yeah, this feels so good.”

“Another example of humanity’s cleverness. Humans the world over love hot springs so much, we’ve created artificial ones.” 

“Like those Japanese snow monkeys,” I said. “I bet if they could, they’d build their own hot tubs.”

“That would be a sight,” he said. “Fifty monkeys hammering and screwing away to build a hot tub in the middle of the mountains.”

“I’m sure they do a lot of _screwing_ already,” I said. 

“You couldn’t resist,” he said, chuckling as he facepalmed.

“Mind if I turn on the jets?” I asked. 

“Not one bit.”

I pressed a button on the tub’s rim, and jets roiled and bubbled the water. As Kiyo lay in my palm, I created a little wall with my other hand so that the jets’ strength wouldn’t sweep him away.

Kiyo lay there in my palm, looking absolutely relaxed. I extended a finger with my other hand and started stroking him. He leaned forward and kissed my palm. I brought my head down to him and kissed his face.

Every muscle in our bodies seemed to relax.

After awhile, Kiyo said, “I…know I said you can’t trust anyone in this game, but at this point, I suppose I trust you. You’ve been nothing but kind and hospitable to me.”

“Of course,” I said. “I’m not gonna let you die."

“My sister…” he said. “She was a very kind person. And she fueled my interest in anthropology. You and her would have gotten along.” 

He sighed. “I had a perfectly normal family – me, Sister, mom, and dad. Until my father died. Then my mother met my stepfather. At first he seemed nice…but when she married him, everything went south. When he got to drinking…Sister was the one who always protected me.”

I took this all in. Whatever his stepfather did, it couldn’t have been good.

“I’m sorry to hear about your stepfather. No one should treat their family like that. Your sister sounds lovely though.”'

“She was,” he said, staring off into space. He looked at me again. “Anyway, what was your family like?”

We enjoyed the hot tub for about five more minutes, talking about my family. Then the conversation turned to nature documentaries. I told him I really liked them.

"Some people find those boring, but I've always enjoyed them," said Kiyo. "Though my favorites are the anthropological documentaries."

I asked if he'd seen a certain ocean documentary. He hadn't, and suggested that we see whether the library had a copy of it. We made a deal that if the library had it, we'd watch it tomorrow in that room next to the gaming lounge.

Due to Kiyo’s size, he started to feel overheated after a couple minutes, and he told me so. "What are you trying to do?" he joked. "Cook me?"

I laughed, lifting him out of the water. For such a quiet, serious person, Kiyo could be pretty funny sometimes.

The anthropologist sat on the rim of the tub for the rest of the time. I occasionally splashed him with warm water, and set my clothes behind him so that if anyone came in, he’d be concealed.

After more conversation, I looked at the time on the clock. It was shocking. “Can you believe it’s been an hour?!”

“The more enjoyable the time, the faster it slips away,” Kiyo mused.

“Great, now I’m having an existential crisis.”

The pool had an outdoor shower. I held Kiyo under it carefully so he got clean too. There was no one else in the pool, so I felt free to wash myself thoroughly. Technically, someone could see me from Ryoma's lab if they wanted to, but everyone had been avoiding that place since the Ultimate Tennis Pro died. 

After we finished drying off, you couldn’t even tell we’d been swimming at all.

I dropped my things off at the dorm, then decided to head to the fourth floor. Time to examine where the scythe had been.


	11. A Murder Scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In their search for the scythe, Kiyo and the girl discover a murder scene.

Oddly, it didn’t take us long to find what we were searching for. When we went up to the fourth floor, I turned the corner and started down the hallway. 

“We should be careful,” Kiyo said. If somebody stole a scythe, they probably don’t have the best of intentions.”

Apprehension crept into my body. “You’re right.” Then I joked, “Unless it was an emergency, and they really needed to harvest some wheat.”

We went up the stairs, through the hallway, and turned a corner.

And that was when we saw it. 

Tenko lay on the floor of the hallway, blood trickling from her neck to form an obscenely large pool. The sickle lay next to her in the pool, blood all over it. Blood had seeped into her blue schoolgirl outfit. Long stripes of it painted the walls. It was also streaked all over the floor. The Ultimate Aikido Master’s green eyes lay half open and lifeless.

The hairs on my arms stood up. 

The adrenaline hit like a freight train. Somehow, instead of screaming, I just heard an extremely calm voice telling me to RUN. 

Kiyo had felt me stop walking. “What is it?” he said cautiously. 

I tried to speak but the words wouldn’t come out.

The anthropologist poked his head out of the pocket.

“Oh shit,” he said, and his eyes went wide.

I backed away slowly, shuddering. _“T…Tenko…”_

The fear was paralyzing. For about thirty seconds, it was impossible to do anything but stand there.

“You have to move!” said Kiyo urgently. “The killer could still be here!”

Just after that, Shuichi walked around the corner. He let out a shout of surprise.

“AAAHHH! W-what is this?!” he said, recoiling at the sight of the crime scene. “Oh my God…”

I backed away more. “Uh…it…it’s Tenko…” I couldn’t manage anything more specific. “It looks like she’s dead…”

Surely _Shuichi_ couldn’t have done this. Could he?

Either way, the killer must still be out there.

The sound of the announcement jarred us into reality. _DING DONG BING BONG! A body has been discovered!_


	12. Investigation and Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The class investigates Tenko's murder and the class trial comes to a sad conclusion.

Angie came running, as did everyone else. Seeing our tough and energetic Aikido master lying there, dead, was terrifying. Several people started to scream. 

“Who would kill Tenko?” said Keebo in disbelief. 

“Someone who wants to win the game, duh,” Kokichi said glibly.

“Oh my goodness,” said Tsumugi. “This is terrible!”

Himiko saw the body, fell to her knees and started wailing. Gonta did something similar.

Everyone was in disbelief. 

I stood there, staring at the blood on the floor, on the walls, seeping into Tenko’s clothes. Shock started to give way to sadness.

Poor Tenko. She could be abrasive at times, but she was cool. She was a nice person, despite her tough exterior. She never deserved to die. 

I realized, _Someone here is a murderer._

Shuichi awkwardly knelt down and pushed her eyelids shut.

“I guess we need to investigate…”

The first thing we noticed was that the killing blows had been delivered to her neck. 

“The first blow landed right in her jugular,” said Maki. "And the other one slashed her throat." 

“It's very precise,” said Shuichi. “This could not have been an accident.”

“I think I’m gonna throw up,” I said, and left to go to the bathroom.

In the ladies’ room, I whispered the situation to Kiyo. 

“I actually got a glimpse of it,” he said. 

“What?”

“The stitching on this side of the pocket has a tiny gap. I discovered it today. I can see through if I press one eye up.”

“Well that’s convenient,” I said. “If you get any ideas about what we should be investigating, let me know.”

“It's a shame about Angie. Like Maki said earlier, it looks like that one blow hit her jugular, and the other went across her throat,” he said.

“Well, yeah,” I said sarcastically. I got serious again. “I mean, what should we investigate next?”

“Well, there were no signs of struggle. No obvious physical clues. Right now, the most important thing is to see who does and does not have an alibi. I would interview everyone, then talk to Shuichi. He’s the Ultimate Detective, after all.”

“I’d bet so much money Shuichi solves this whole thing. He usually does.”

“Nevertheless, we all have to do our best to contribute to the investigation.”

Back at the crime scene, I talked with the other students and then Shuichi.

“The weird thing is, if Tenko’s an Aikido master, shouldn’t she have seen someone coming at her with a scythe and blocked it or something?”

Shuichi nodded. “I noticed that too. It’s very strange.”

“I took Aikido for a couple years as a kid,” I said. “You learn to block wooden sword attacks from different angles. I couldn’t do it in the real world, but Tenko was an expert.”

Maki said, “You’d think she’d be able to block the scythe and use it against her attacker.”

Shuichi was quite puzzled, as we all were. “I just don’t understand how this could have occurred.”

Keebo said, “Also, no one had blood on their clothes today. If they were in front of her, they had to have gotten blood sprayed on them.”

Shuichi said, “Great. So what we have is an attack that had to have come from the front, surprising an Aikido master who is adept at blocking and disarming people with weapons, and precisely cutting her jugular and her throat.”

Gonta walked up. “Shuichi! This probably weird question, but could Angie have killed self? Could have used scythe on her own neck!”

“That’s a good point, Gonta,” said Shuichi. “We wouldn’t have to wonder why she didn’t see the scythe cutting her if she did it herself.”

“Yes, but why would she do such a thing?” said Maki.

Himiko strode over to us, upset. “She’d never commit suicide! I know Tenko, and she loved life!”

Several of us agreed with her.

“She doesn’t seem like the type,” Shuichi acknowledged. 

“You never know,” I said. “She could’ve been depressed.”

“Maybe it was like what happened with Ryoma,” said Tsumugi. “He basically gave Kirumi permission to kill him.”

"Yeah but it was like, super obvious that dude was depressed," said Kokichi. 

Everyone in the room seemed to have coalesced around our conversation. 

“It looks like we can’t detect any clues on the sickle itself like fingerprints or any foreign material. So it’s mostly down to who was and wasn’t here to do the crime.”

I nodded in agreement. 

Shuichi turned to me.

“Hey, speaking of which – what were _you_ doing the last hour or so?”

All my blood seemed to turn to ice.

“The crime must have happened sometime between breakfast at the dining hall and a few minutes ago,” he continued. I don’t know much about how blood clots, but it’s not dry yet.”

“It is a lot of blood,” I said. Shuichi was scrutinizing my face right now. I felt shaky. _Do I let a little nervousness show, or do I look calm and make him think I’m too calm? Did he think it was weird I didn’t scream earlier?_

“I…I went to the hot tub pretty much right after breakfast,” I said. “Then I went to the dorm, then I came up here…”

“You went to the hot tub? Did anyone go with you?”

_Korekiyo was there! But I can’t tell Shuichi that._

The Ultimate Detective gave me a look.

“No, I was alone.”

“Did you get your hair wet?” he asked. 

“No, I was just sitting in the hot tub.”

Shuichi’s suspicion was obvious.

“It _wasn’t me,_ Shuichi,” I said. “I stumbled on this just before you did.”

The Ultimate Detective seemed to realize he was making me nervous.

“Okay, just checking everyone’s story,” he said in a more businesslike fashion, and turned to talk with the others. 

I talked with others too. "You know who I think did it?" asked Himiko. "Korekiyo!"

"Where is he, anyway?" wondered Keebo.

"It's very suspicious that a scythe from his own lab was the murder weapon, and no one knows where he's been," said Shuichi.

"Yeah, but here's no reason to assume it was him!" I said.

"Whoever it was, I'm sure the truth will come out at the trial," Maki said. 

Just then, Monokuma showed up.

“Everyone head to the trial grounds!” he exclaimed.

It felt like we’d had barely any time to investigate, but if the bear said it was time, it was time.

* * * * *  
At the trial grounds, everyone waited to go into the fountain. I was dreading the inevitable question. 

“Is everyone here?” asked Shuichi.

“Um…almost everyone,” said Himiko, sniffling. She and Angie were both crying.

“Where’s the creepster?” asked Miu.

“Yeah, where is Korekiyo?" wondered Kaito. "He didn't even investigate with us."

“Kiyo must show up soon,” said Keebo. “He has to. It’s one of Monokuma’s rules that we all have to be present for a trial.”

“I can’t believe that happened to poor Tenko…” cried Angie. “But at least," she sniffed, "she is with Atua now.”

“Gonta…could not protect his friend…” the entomologist said with his head in his hands.

"Don't blame yourself, Gonta," said Himiko. "It's not your fault. I know you'd never kill anybody."

“What a shame,” Tsumugi said sadly. “All those martial arts skills, and Tenko still got murdered.”

I started to feel nervous. What were we going to do now that the trial was starting? As soon as Korekiyo got discovered, he'd be vulnerable to become the next victim. And if I kept taking care of him, I would be in danger too.

Maki showed up. She was the last one there. As people kept wondering where the anthropologist was, the fountain opened nonetheless and the elevator appeared.

“Huh,” said Kokichi. “Maybe Korky got murdered or something.”

 _Seriously?_ I thought. _You’re gonna call him Korky?_

When we arrived at the trial grounds, my anxiety increased. It was time for everyone to stand at their podium. _Say goodbye to Korekiyo’s secret…_

“Aaaaalright ladies and gentlemen!” exclaimed Monokuma, and reminded us of the rules of the class trial. 

Shuichi blurted out, “But we’re not all here!”

There were some whispers.

“Puhuhuhuhuhu!” laughed the mechanical bear. “Oh, your friend is here alright!”

“What, did he turn invisible?” asked Himiko. Her eyes widened in delight. “Does he have secret mage skills?”

“I bet he got murdered, and someone chopped him in itty bitty bits and buried him in the garden!” Kokichi said. “If no one’s dug him up, there’d be no body announcement!”

"This guy, officer," joked Kaito. "This guy right here."

“Good guess Kokichi, but you’re wrong!” said Monokuma. “Korekiyo is alive and well! And he’s closer than you think!”

I dreaded this moment.

“Come out Korekiyo, stand at your podium!”

Everyone looked around the room.

Slowly, gingerly, I reached into my pocket.

_No use being secretive about it. Everyone will see anyway in a couple seconds._

“Moment of truth,” I muttered. 

Kiyo looked up at me and nodded, climbing onto my fingers.

I lifted my tiny, nearly weightless classmate out of the pocket, holding a hand under him in case he fell from my fingers.

Himiko gasped. 

Gonta’s eyes popped out. "Whaaa?!"

A few people laughed.

“You gotta be shittin’ me,” said Miu.

I walked Kiyo gently over to his podium, setting him down on the dark polished wood.

Kokichi began to giggle. “Oh wow! That’s hilarious! That- that's the funniest thing I've ever seen!"

“W-what the?! Is that really him?!” said Shuichi. 

“What a plot twist,” said Tsumugi with a little smirk.

Kaito took a couple steps back from the podium, terrified. Then he realized it looked unmanly, so he stepped forward again. Better act like this isn’t freaking me out. “Kiyo, man. Wh-what the hell happened to you?”

“Like you can see, I’ve shrunk,” said Korekiyo. “Several days ago, an artifact in the anthropology lab…cursed me.”

Himiko said, “Which one was it?”

“I…I’m not sure which one,” he lied. “There are a good many ‘cursed artifacts’ in my lab.”

"Oh, my abs...my abs..." said Kokichi, in pain from all his laughter. 

_Why isn’t Kiyo telling them which artifact?_ I wondered. _He told me what the mask was called, but was vague when I asked why it shrank him. If it would shrink anyone standing near it, why didn’t it shrink me? There must be something he doesn't want us to know._

“That’s it,” said Kaito, still looking spooked. “I’m never going in there again.”

“Last time you did, the Korkster said he was gonna tear you up,” said Kokichi.

“That’s not exactly what he said,” said Kaito.

“Not like he can tear anyone up now,” muttered Maki.

“If you need someone to bless the room, Kiyo,” said Angie helpfully, “I would be glad to help you. Curses are nothing in the face of Atua’s power!"

“Thanks for the offer,” Kiyo said. 

“How’d you even survive?” said Miu curiously. “How’d you get to the dining hall to eat?”

“Luckily, someone has been helping me out,” he said. He gestured with his hand towards me. “-----‘s been caring for me while I’m in this…state.”

Everyone looked at me. I blushed and said, “It’s not really a big deal. I’m sure most of you would have done the same.” _That may not be true, but whatever._

Shuichi nodded. _Most of us are good people,_ he thought.

“Psh. I don’t know how you stand the guy,” said Kokichi. “I can’t stand to see him for more than, like, five minutes. And you’ve had to deal with him 24/7?”

“Kokichi!” said Himiko. “That’s not very nice!”

“Come on, everyone,” said Angie. “Atua would want us to show kindness.”

Korekiyo’s calm voice rang out. “It’s alright. If Kokichi’s insults bothered me that much, he’d be dead already.”

“Kiyo!” I said. “Don’t talk about murdering people! By the way, Shuichi,” I said, “Kiyo was with me this morning. The two of us didn’t kill anyone. We headed to the hot tub, then the dorm, then the fourth floor, just before we ran into you.”

Miu and Kokichi both had nasty grins on their faces. “Ooooh, you guys went to the hot tub-“

Monokuma pulled his hand off his cheek, looking bored. He shook his gavel in the air. “Enough already! While I looove sexy hot tubs, it’s time for the class trial!”

At the start of the trial, some people were suspicious of me and Kiyo. 

“Going to the pool and getting wet is a convenient excuse to wash all your clothes!” said Miu. 

“No, that’s wrong!” said Shuichi. “They didn’t go in the tub with their clothes! They never had to wash their clothes, only their swimsuits.”

“For the Ultimate Inventor, you’re not very smart,” said Kokichi.

"Miu smart!" said Gonta. "She very smart!"

Miu looked crushed. 

“The suits are in my room if you guys need to see the evidence,” I said. “Plus, Gonta saw us on our way back to the dorm.”

Kiyo agreed. “And we ran into Maki as well, shortly before heading to the fourth floor.”

“That still leaves a few minutes when you could have done it!” said Miu.

Over the next couple of hours, the list of suspects was narrowed down.

In an odd twist of fate, eventually it turned out that the one who had killed Tenko was Angie. She had gone into one of the “creepy rooms,” seen something glinting under a floorboard, and discovered the scythe. 

Why was a weapon under the floorboard in that room? No one knew, or at least, the person who knew wasn’t willing to admit it. Someone had to know why it was there.

 _I wonder if Korekiyo knew about this,_ I thought. _No, he couldn’t have, he was shrunk and with me the last few days._

“What were you doing with a scythe anyway, Angie?” Maki asked. “Were you planning to use it against someone?”

“No, no!” cried Angie. “I never kill! I would never kill any of you! I was…I was just feeling lonely, and decided to find a sickle. It’s a tradition on my island. We have a custom where, if we desire company, we place a sickle into our windowsill to let passersby know that they are invited in!”

Tears were coming down her cheeks.

“All I wanted was some company! I was in the middle of taking it to my dorm!”

“The murder weapon wasn’t technically a sickle,” said Maki. “It’s a scythe.”

“What’s the difference?” asked Himiko, sounding even more depressed than usual.

“A scythe’s handle’s long, and a sickle’s is short,” she explained. 

“Ooh!” said Kokichi with delight. “Say that three times fast! A scythe handle’s long, and a sickle’s is short! A scythe handle’s long, and a sickle’s is short…”

“SHUT UP!” boomed Kaito.

After the Ultimate Supreme Leader was silenced, Angie continued her story. After removing the scythe from the floorboards, and as she strolled around the corner, Angie had unfortunately run right into Gonta and Tenko. Literally. Gonta had bumped into Tenko, she’d fallen forward, and the scythe in Angie’s hand just happened to hit Tenko right in her jugular. Then, the scythe had cut across her throat. The blood flow could not be stanched. Angie immediately told Gonta to put a hand over Tenko’s mouth, so that people wouldn’t hear Tenko’s screams and find them with her. 

Angie divulged that the reason there was no blood on her clothes was that she had been wearing an artist’s apron. She’d washed as much blood out of it as she could in the art lab sink, then had stained over the remaining brown bloodstains with paint. That’s why we never found blood on the clothes of the culprit. It was still rather miraculous that no blood had gotten on Gonta’s clothing. 

Gonta and Angie were openly weeping at their podiums.

Angie said, “It was an accident, Monokuma! I didn’t mean to murder Tenko! I’d never hurt her…”

“Doesn’t matter!” the bear exclaimed. “If you kill someone here, regardless of the circumstances, it counts as murder! Puhuhuhu!”

“Noo!” Angie and Gonta cried.

“Monokuma, was there one culprit or two culprits in this case?” asked Shuichi.

“There can be ONLY ONE!” the bear replied cheerfully.

“But…does that mean Angie or Gonta did it?” asked Shuichi.

“I’ll let _you_ figure it out!” said Monokuma. “Iiiiit’s voting time!”

Everyone had to choose who would be executed. Two voted for Gonta, and the rest voted for Angie.

“Well, this was a tricky one! Gonta did bump into Angie, but Angie was the one holding the scythe so she’s the culprit!”

It was horrible knowing Angie was about to die. The thought of her getting executed made me feel depressed. Even Kiyo, who didn’t normally show much emotion, looked bummed out.

“It’s okay, everyone,” Angie said sadly. She raised her fist in an expression of strength. “I know what is about to happen, but I am not afraid. Atua is waiting for me!” Angie closed her eyes and smiled serenely, as if she wasn’t afraid at all. She opened her arms and relaxed them out at her sides like a saint. “One day, Atua will be waiting for you too, and you and I will be good friends again!”

"Time's up!" cried an unwelcome voice. Monokuma grabbed ahold of the Ultimate Artist, who gave a small yelp as she was dragged away. It was punishment time.


	13. The Execution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angie's execution. Pretty grisly.

“I’ve prepared a _veeery_ special execution for Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate Artist!”

Monokuma grabbed Angie, and the next thing we knew, the red velvet curtains had opened to reveal a gigantic easel. An enormous paintbrush sat on a side table, along with a palette. 

Everyone was dreading what would come next, but at the same time, we were all morbidly curious about how Angie would meet her fate.

Angie appeared above the easel, suspended by a long rope on a harness. Like rock climbers used. Monokuma hit a button, and two robot arms came out from somewhere. One unhooked Angie from the harness, and the other one grabbed the paintbrush. 

Some of us started to have an inkling of what was in store. 

Suddenly, the other hand put the paintbrush down and exited stage right. When it came back, it was carrying an artist’s knife.

The robot hand turned Angie over, held her to the page, and the knife suddenly jabbed at her in multiple places. Angie gave several horrible shrieks, and a spray of blood droplets began to fall on the canvas. 

Everyone gasped. 

Maki threw her hands over her eyes. 

“No!” yelled Gonta.

The robotic hands moved Angie’s body all around in the air, splattering blood around the canvas like a Jackson Pollock painting, then the other hand shot out, grabbed the palette, and her blood filled up a couple of the paint compartments. Angie sputtered and coughed, a look of utter shock on her face. Then the paintbrush came out and started painting furiously on the canvas.

Before we knew it, there was a beautiful mountain landscape painting in front of us. Angie used the last of her strength to look at it and sighed, seeming to admire the aesthetics of it. She smiled weakly. 

A couple more spurts of blood came out. The robot arms used the paintbrush to add a couple more trees to the scene. All at once, Angie’s head fell and her body went limp.

“Puhuhu!” Monokuma laughed uproariously. “I ain’t no TV artist, but those look pretty _happy_ to me! And now, for the final touch!”

Then Monokuma grabbed the art knife again. Too fast for us to follow, he hooked Angie’s lifeless body back onto the harness and the blade went swipe swipe swipe over her body. Chunks of flesh fell from her onto the ground. In less than ten seconds, Monokuma’s sculpture was complete. He’d sculpted her corpse into the form of an angel, carving down to the bone in some areas and leaving flesh in other areas. He had made the illusion of an angel’s robe, with beautifully undulating folds of fabric, and when he flipped the “sculpture” around, there was even the illusion of two “wings” going down her back. “Sandals” of skin and sinew were on her feet. Monokuma had fixed Angie’s body into an angelic pose using toothpicks and twine. 

“Ta-dah!” cried Monokuma. “It’s my magnum opus!”

It was magnificently beautiful, yet horrible. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. 

Poor Angie. 

_“Angie!”_ Himiko cried in despair.

Gonta turned and threw up onto the ground. 

A couple other people vomited, too.

Miu cried, “What the _fuck,_ Monokuma?!”

Kaito said, “What’s wrong with you? You sick bastard! I’ll…I’ll kill you!”

Even Kokichi had his mouth open in shock.

I couldn’t say a word. That image of Angie was going to be burned into my memory forever.

Korekiyo stared at the sight from my palm, transfixed. Even he seemed horrified. 

Suddenly, Monokuma popped up again. _"Art was in her blood!_ Puhuhu! Ahahahahaha!" 

Then a giant dustpan and broom appeared on stage and swept up all the shorn skin and muscle, tossing it into a huge trash can. 

Now that the execution was complete, none of us knew what to say. We all just stared at each other blankly, and after thirty seconds or so, we dispersed. 

The tears didn’t come until I was back at my dorm. Kiyo sat on my pillow again, occasionally caressing my hand in an effort to make me feel better. But his ministrations just made my mood worse. 

After I’d blown my nose and wiped my face on a couple of handkerchiefs, it finally seemed there were no more tears left to cry.

“Angie was a very caring person,” said Kiyo. “In her own way, she tried to help our class survive.”

“She did,” I said, with my nose all stuffy. “And you know, sometimes she could be annoying, but she didn’t deserve that!”

“None of us ‘deserve’ what Monokuma’s done to us,” said Kiyo. The execution he'd just seen was really disturbing him.

_I’ve carved up people before…why is Angie’s death affecting me so much?_

A cold sweat started to bloom on his forehead.

_How could I have done those horrible things? Murdered people?_

__

__

_I’m…almost as bad as Monokuma. Maybe even worse than Monokuma,_ he realized.

“What are you thinking?” I asked, seeing the odd look on Kiyo’s face.

“I'm feeling upset,” he said honestly.

“I think we’re all upset after that,” I said.

I looked down at Kiyo. His cute little outfit, his long hair, the look in his eyes right now. I picked him up and pressed him to my chest. 

“I wish you could cuddle me,” I said. “You could be the big spoon.”

“I might not ever be the big spoon again,” said the anthropologist. 

An icy jolt went down my spine. “Don’t say that,” I said. “You’ll get back to normal, I know it.”

“Well, even if I can’t spoon you, I’ll cuddle you the best I can." He thought about what to say next. "It's..." he said experimentally. "It's going to be alright."

“It just feels so good having you here. I don’t know how many more horrible murders and executions I can stand…but having you here…it just…makes everything better.”

I brought Kiyo to my cheek, and he hugged me. “Same here. It’s good being with you.”

“Plus,” I said darkly, “at least there’s _one_ person here that’s never gonna murder me…”

 _She has no idea what I've done,_ he thought. _I’d never hurt her, but if anyone deserves to be executed, it’s probably me…_

I brought Kiyo to my face to kiss him, and for a short time, all our worries were washed away.


	14. Breakfast, and a Talk with Miu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Students try to distract themselves from memories of Angie's execution. The girl and Kiyo discuss the killing game for awhile, then the girl meets up with Miu. Miu hints at an amazing new invention that will be unveiled soon.

Everyone was in shock the morning after Angie’s execution. At the dining hall, we tried to keep the conversation off yesterday’s gory events. Kiyo’s first shrunken appearance at the dining hall was a lovely distraction. The anthropologist stood calmly in my cupped hands, humoring everyone’s stares and questions.

“He’s so CUTE!” cried Himiko.

“He’s so fuckin’ adorable, I could eat him up!” exclaimed Miu.

“Please don’t,” Kiyo said sardonically. I giggled, along with several other students.

“Being in this state really puts you at a disadvantage,” said Maki.

“Kiyo tiny like bug!” cried Gonta, just like he had said at yesterday’s trial. “Kiyo want meet bug friends?”

“NO!” said Kiyo, his voice unusually forceful. Then he said more calmly, “I’d rather not. But thanks for the offer, Gonta.”

“I wonder, is this a part of the killing game?” asked Keebo.

“Everything’s part of the killing game,” I said.

“What I meant was, was this caused by the mastermind?”

“It’s doubtful,” said Kiyo. “The legend associated with this artifact has been known for a long time.”

Kaito still looked terrified of the shrunken Kiyo. He was two steps behind everyone else.

“D’you wanna touch him, Kaito?” asked Kokichi. "Pretty sure he doesn't bite."

“No way!” the astronaut said, trembling. “Ancient curses…creepy shrinking…it’s like a horrible nightmare!”

“It’s okay Kaito, it's not catchy,” I grinned.

“I’m staying far away!” he insisted, though he couldn’t keep his eyes off the anthropologist.

A couple students giggled.

“It’s not that bad,” Kiyo said, laughing at the fear on Kaito’s face. 

“He has a lot more reason to be afraid of you,” Shuichi said to Kaito. Kaito put his palms out and backed away, deciding to get himself another stack of pancakes.

“Can Gonta hold Kiyo?” asked the entomologist. 

“Uhh, you can touch me, but please don’t pick me up,” said Korekiyo. A bunch of people's fingers were prodding him now. "Do be careful. I'm fragile."

"He's a delicate little flower," I joked. 

As the crowd pressed in around us, Kiyo and I started to feel crowded. 

“Can you give us some space?” I asked. 

"Sorry!" said Himiko. "Move back, you guys!" 

One student didn't want to move. He was staring at Korekiyo with a rather creepy expression. I gave him a look. “You too, Kokichi.” _Especially you._

“Is everything alright?” Shuichi asked Kiyo, kneeling to be right in front of him. “Is there anything I can get you?”

“Everything’s fine,” the anthropologist said, smiling up at me. “-----‘s been taking good care of me.”

“Are you sure?”

He looked back at the detective. “If you insist, you could get me one of those strawberries and dice it up really finely.”

Shuichi was super helpful, though it was no big deal for me to get the rest of the items Kiyo indicated and cut them at the table. It’s what I’d been doing the last several days, bringing part of each day’s meal back to the dorm.

Although Kiyo remained polite, his patience for everyone's gawking soon wore thin, and after a few minutes he requested that everyone eat their breakfast and stop staring. Not all of them seemed inclined to take him seriously, so I reminded them. The rest of breakfast happened without incident.

Later that afternoon, it was time for free time. Deciding to give the lock on my door more credit, I left Kiyo in my room that day. Both of us had been looking forward to some alone time. It was lovely being together, but breaks are very important when someone’s with you 24/7. He said it would be nice to meet up again after a few hours so he could get some reading done. I arranged some books he was reading on my bed. Just as I was about to walk out the door, the anthropologist removed his notepad from his pocket and began scrawling in it. I paused. He looked so cute sitting there on my bed, dwarfed by the pencil on my nightstand, writing with a puny pen in his microscopic notebook.

“I’ve said this before, but it’s pretty convenient you had that notebook in your pocket when you shrank. Are you writing about the killing game so far?”

“I am. As could be expected, everyone’s responding differently. Though the most interesting part to me is how collectively restrained the violence has been.”

“You mean how it hasn’t devolved into a bloodbath yet?”

I walked over and sat on the bed about a foot away from Kiyo.

“Yes. From previous experiences, I’d assumed that the killing would really start escalating after the first murder or two, but if anything, it’s been slowing down. Given the incentives at play, it’s surprising how strongly most of our classmates are avoiding violence.”

“You’ve been mentioning that,” I said. “Give our classmates some credit. Maybe you underestimated how decent they are. Or maybe gifted kids are just less inclined to give in to the demands of the killing game.”

“How do you mean?” inquired Kiyo.

I continued, “I read this really interesting book about gifted kids, and it said that they’re less impacted by external motivators. They’re motivated more internally, by their own moral code and things they enjoy doing. So maybe Monokuma’s incentives aren’t going to work on us that easily.”

Kiyo considered the idea. “That makes sense,” he said. “Though in the killing game, such resistance to external motivators would have to be balanced against the human propensity for violence.”

“This whole thing is pretty fascinating when you think about it,” I said. 

Kiyo smiled. “Nevermind a research paper. If we ever get out of here, I’m writing my Ph. D."

“You’re a gifted kid, but I’m pretty sure you have to go to college first,” I smiled. 

“I’m a gifted kid,” repeated Kiyo, and he started chuckling at the absurdity of it. 

“Technically since you’re 18, you’re a gifted adult,” I replied.

“Are you?” he asked.

“Gifted or an adult? I dunno about gifted, but I’m definitely 18. Had my birthday two days before coming here.”

Kiyo said appreciatively, “You may not be a specialized Ultimate, but you’re pretty smart. You seem gifted to me.”

“Aww, thanks,” I said. It was kind of embarrassing.

He asked me about my birthday. As I remembered the party, a wave of homesickness reared its head. The memories were fresh and vivid, and I started to feel emotional. 

I looked at Kiyo again. “I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s just hard thinking about it.”

“I understand,” said Kiyo. He walked over and placed his arms on my hand. “No need to apologize, homesickness is a normal human feeling. Especially under these conditions. While I don’t miss my family – “ I raised an eyebrow at him – “they had some serious problems – I do miss going out to explore new places and conducting fieldwork.”

I sat there for awhile, asking Kiyo about his fieldwork, and started to feel better. We were both going through this together. No, not just me and him. All of us students were going through this game together, and we had each other. For however long that lasted. Even if it was only right now.

“It’s nice talking with you,” I said. 

“Same,” he said. 

“About what you said earlier - is it just me, or are the gifted juveniles here all _really weird?”_

An unusually goofy grin appeared on Kiyo’s face. “It’s an inescapable truth.”

I giggled. “Well, anyway, I’m going to go be social for awhile. Enjoy your reading!”

“Have a good time,” Kiyo said pleasantly before returning to his books.

* * * * *  
The first person I spent free time with that day was someone I’d been putting off talking to for a while. It was time to do it. I stepped into her gleaming lab and greeted her. 

“Hey, Miu.”

“Hey! -----! Wh-what are you doing here?” she said, seeming flustered. She flipped up her welding helmet and looked at me.

I decided to start off casual. “Nothing really. I just wanted to say hi and see what you’re up to.”

She sneered. “Heh. Is your little _boy toy_ with you?”

“I dunno, is yours?”

Miu looked surprised. 

“H-he’s not my boyfriend!”

“Likewise.” But I wish he was… “Kiyo’s off doing some work. And hey, I’d like it if you didn’t say things like that about him.”

“I’m nice,” she objected. 

“When we’re at breakfast, or at a trial, it bugs me when you make raunchy comments like that.”

“So what? You’re either banging the guy, or you want to! You want his _three inches of love!"_ She laughed hysterically at her own joke.

_Oh my God, is it that obvious?!_

“Dude!” My face was starting to feel hot, and Miu was starting to piss me off. I couldn’t let her get to me. “I…I like him a little bit, but you don’t have to be so crude about it. It’s embarrassing. Could you stop saying that stuff in front of our classmates?”

“S-sorry,” Miu said. “I didn’t think it was such a big deal. And you said some shit about me and Keebo that wasn’t too ‘nice,’ either.”

“Sorry about that,” I said. “That wasn’t right.”

Now that she mentioned it, that comment I made yesterday about the oil changes was a rotten thing to say. I shouldn’t have brought Keebo into this.

“Eh, whatever. You all think I’m trash anyway,” she said brashly. “What’s a few more trashy comments? Might as well give the people what they want.”

“You’re not trash,” I said, brushing it off. I didn’t want to get into this discussion. “Anyway, what are you working on in here?”

Miu’s face lit up as she showed me an invention she was working on. “It’s just a side project right now, but if I can get it working, it will use face recognition to log who’s in which room at which time! That way, you wouldn't have to hunt all over the school to find somebody. And it could be really helpful in investigations.”

“Wow, that sounds really cool,” I said. “And useful.”

 _"If_ I can get it to work,” Miu replied. “It’s pretty fuckin’ complicated.”

“Sounds like it,” I said. 

“So what’s your main project right now?” I asked.

“It's brilliant!" she said. "It's genius! But it's top secret. I promise to show you all when it’s done-should be just a few more days…”

We discussed Miu’s inventions for a few more minutes, then I decided to go meet up with Shuichi for awhile.

“It was nice talking with you,” I said.

“It wasn’t that bad talkin’ with you either,” she said, scratching her head. “And…if it really bugs you and shit, I won’t say stuff about Kiyo. No hard feelings?”

“No hard feelings. See you around, Miu.”


	15. What the Nanokumas Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monokuma tells Tsumugi about an interesting finding.

Down in the secret hideout, Tsumugi was yelling at Monokuma. “Well? What’s going on with Korekiyo?” she demanded.

Monokuma looked at her, unfazed. “Eh, the Nanokumas we sent into his room last night were able to get a good look at him. A reeeal good look, right between the ears. And what they found was pretty incredible.”

“Well, what was it?”

“Those two benign tumors inside Kiyo’s head – that one behind his eyes, and the other one here -" he gestured to a small, but noticeable area on the diagram - "they’re receding. Shrinking relative to the rest of his brain. Crazy, huh? Here's what they looked like at the _start of the game."_ He showed her a different diagram.

Tsumugi's eyes widened.

Monokuma continued. "Scienkuma and Doctorkuma said that based on their current rate of cell death, those growths started to break down around the time the Mask event happened. And it's not just that. There's some subtle changes in other parts of his brain, too."

“What?! THAT’S what’s affecting his personality?”

“Eh, that’s at least part of it. But I like to believe the real reason was _truuue looove.”_ The mechanical bear fluttered his eyelashes, struck a pose, and sighed.

Tsumugi was not amused. “You would.”

“Anyway, since it’s changing the game dynamics…d'you want us to fix it? Add some lesions or something back in?”

Tsumugi pondered the question. It was several seconds until her high, innocent-sounding voice rang out again.

“No, this unexpected character development with Kiyo and ----- makes things rather interesting. And viewership is up eleven percent! Let’s see how this side plot plays out. And if the girl doesn’t find out his despair-worthy secret soon…we can give her a little push.”

“Puhuhu,” said Monokuma. “Don’t make me wait too long! I can practically _smell_ the despair!”

“Just hold on a little longer,” said Tsumugi. She smiled sweetly. Then she walked through the exit of her hidden hideout, through the secret passage to the next floor, and exited the girl’s bathroom.


	16. Meteors and a Missing Clue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next Flashback Light is found, and an important clue goes missing. The group wonders what it all means.

Before long, a new Flashback Light was discovered. It showed a news report with fiery meteors falling all over the world. The sight was rather disturbind.

Once we’d seen it, Miu proposed the idea that this was the afterlife and that we were all dead. 

“But wait,” Maki said. “If we’re all dead…why would we remember our own funeral?”

She had a good point.

Kaito added, “Yeah! If we're dead how could we remember it?"

“Maybe we're all ghosts,” said Himiko.

“That's possible,” said Kiyo. “But I would think spirits would have fewer…physical limitations.”

“If we died,” said Keebo, “why would Monokuma have us trapped in a school?”

“Maybe he’s Satan,” said Himiko in an almost disinterested tone.

That gave me a chuckle.

“This must be hell if I’m stuck with you assholes,” grumbled Miu.

“That’s not very nice,” said Himiko.

“Guys, if we’re dead,” I said, “how would we prove it?”

“I have a theory,” said Kiyo, making his voice carry.

“You mean a _hypothesis,”_ I blurted, before realizing I sounded like a bratty know it all.

“Technically right,” said Kiyo. My face was hot with embarrassment, but Kiyo didn't seem to be offended. “Like you said, it’s impossible to prove whether we are dead, and us being dead would make this whole situation very complicated.” 

“Yeah,” I said. 

Kiyo continued, “Therefore, the simplest thing is to assume we’re alive.”

“Occam’s razor,” murmured Shuichi. He used that a lot as a detective.

“So if we’re alive, this academy must exist in an area the meteors didn’t destroy.”

“But where _did_ the meteors hit?” said Himiko. 

“We don’t know,” said Keebo.

“You’re right, we don’t know,” said Kiyo. “However, if the meteor damage was extensive, it could have made the surface of the earth hard to inhabit. This is just an idea, but I suspect we might be living in a subterranean bunker.”

“Wow,” I said, feeling very impressed. “That actually makes a lot of sense.”

“It’s an interesting possibility,” said Shuichi.

“Underground?!” said Miu and Keebo.

“Oh my goodness!” said Tsumugi.

Kaito turned to me. “Hey, your sidekick’s a smart cookie!”

I laughed. “Who says he's my sidekick? If anything, I’m _his_ sidekick.”

Kiyo had an amused expression. 

Kokichi said, “We can’t be underground, Korky boy!" He pointed up at the ceiling. "We can see the sun.”

“Ah, but we must remember what Gonta said,” Kiyo said, raising his arm in the air like a professor. Some people might come off as pretentious speaking the way he did, but when Kiyo was talking, it just fit.

“Gonta see strange stars at night,” said the entomologist. “Gonta not recognize those stars.”

“That’s one piece of evidence that led me to this possibility,” said Kiyo.

I suddenly said, “That must not be the real sky! Maybe you’re right, Kiyo.” Overwhelmed with affection for him, I picked Kiyo up and smooched his face. "You smarty-pants," I said quietly to him. He smiled at me.

“Ewww,” said Kokichi. We ignored him.

Miu looked alarmed. “Wh…what the hell!” she said. “I don’t like…being underground! I don’t want to feel…buried…”

Kokichi smirked. “There could be _miles and miiiles_ of dirt over us,” he said. 

“That seems unlikely,” said Korekiyo. 

Shuichi added, “Yeah, we’re probably not that deep.”

“S-still!...” Miu said, trembling. 

Keebo said, "It's okay, Miu. If we are underground, it's safe."

She still looked troubled.

"Just...try not to think about it," I suggested.

Tsumugi looked distressed. “Why would they keep this from us?”

“Maybe to stop us from freaking out the way she did,” said Kokichi.

“Gonta confused,” said Gonta, scratching the back of his head.

“We all are,” said Shuichi. "This whole thing's pretty messed up."

“No, Gonta really confused,” he said. “Stone gone.”

“What stone?” several of us said. 

“Stone with letters outside. It disappeared!” he said. 

There was a moment of confusion.

Kokichi seemed to find this hard to believe. “Who would steal a _rock?” _he said.__

____

“Someone like you,” said Maki.

____

“Yeah!” interjected Himiko. “You’re the one who lies and pranks people all the time!”

____

“Yeah, but why would _I_ steal a rock?" he said, and started to laugh.

____

“Probably to piss everyone off,” I whispered to Kiyo.

____

“Aw man,” said Kaito. “Now we can’t see if it had any new letters.”

____

Everyone agreed.

____

Shuichi said, “It must be in the school somewhere. Maybe an Exisal moved it?”

____

That stone outside with the strange letters, the letters that had mysteriously appeared after each class trial…who had taken it? And why?

____

We all decided to look for it.

____


	17. Miu and the VR World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miu unveils the mainframe for the virtual world. The class has mixed opinions about it.

A few weeks had passed. The bonds between Kiyo and I, and between the rest of the students, deepened. We'd all searched and searched, but none of us were able to find that missing courtyard stone.

One day, Miu invited us all to the unveiling of a very special invention.

“It’s a virtual world!” she cried proudly as we all stared at the huge mainframe before us.

Reactions were mixed. Some students wanted to try it while others were wary. It felt quite suspicious to me. 

“Aw, c’mon, you virgins gotta try it!” Miu said.

“I dunno,” I said. “What if something happens while we’re all zonked out with our headsets on?”

“We’d be sitting ducks,” said Kiyo. 

“Psh. Not like I’d have a headset your size anyway,” said Miu. She started to say something else, then looked at me, looked at the others assembled in the room, and stopped.

_Did she actually listen to me earlier? Wow._

“Aww isn’t he CUTE!” exclaimed Kokichi. “Iddy widdy biddy Korky!”

“Are you always this irritating, or do you just enjoy tempting violence during a killing game?” Kiyo asked dryly.

“You’re cute when you’re pissed off,” said the Ultimate Supreme Leader.

“Just ignore him,” Maki said to Kiyo. 

Kaito growled at Kokichi, but the glare in Maki’s eyes silenced him.

She kind of reminded me of my mom.

Anyway, Kiyo and I refused to enter the VR world. I didn’t want to risk my life plugging into a headset for hours like a comatose MMO player. I didn’t want to risk Kiyo’s life either, since I wouldn't be able to protect him in-game.

“It’s not like anything bad’s gonna happen,” I said, playing down the paranoia. “I’m just a bit worried about Kiyo.”

“What are you going to do while we’re all playing the game?” asked Himiko.

“Hmm, Kiyo and I might watch you guys for a bit, or we might go see a movie downstairs or something.”

“Ehh, suit yourself,” said Miu, bummed out we hadn’t all gotten on board.

“It should be pretty safe,” Shuichi said reassuringly to the other students. “Miu’s gotten rid of all the weapons, and if anyone exits the game, we’ll see.”

“Alright,” I said, shrugging. 

“Enjoy yourselves,” said Kiyo.

Everyone else plugged their headsets into the massive mainframe. They put them on and immediately relaxed into their chairs, totally unconscious. Miu gave a long fart. 

I burst into giggles. So did Kiyo. 

After all the tension earlier, we couldn’t stop laughing.

“What did Miu eat for breakfast today? Taco Bell?” Kiyo said, uncharacteristically crude.

I looked at Kiyo and absolutely lost it. “You are so c-c-classy,” I said, struggling to stop giggling.

After a few seconds…

“Going into that VR world seems ill-advised,” the anthropologist said, “no matter what Miu says.”

“I dunno, she made a pretty strong _rebuttal."_

Kiyo facepalmed so hard, his hat fell on the ground.

After that laughter earlier, my abs hurt. I picked up Korekiyo’s hat and gave it back to him.

I said, “Should we stay here and, like, supervise? If the unthinkable happens, we could be blamed for it.”

“Maybe we should.”

“Who knows how long they’ll be in there. I’m gonna grab a sketchpad and pencils so I won’t be bored to death. Do you want me to get one of your books?”

“That would be great,” Kiyo said. “Thank you.”

I glanced over at our unconscious friends and pretended they could hear me. 

“Now, kids, try not to kill each other for the next five minutes, okay?”

Kiyo gave me a look.

I headed to the dorm for one of Kiyo’s anthropology books, then to the art lab to grab some art supplies.


	18. A longer diversion than expected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While everyone else is in the VR world...

When we got to the Art lab, I took a deep breath. The paints, the pastels, the clay, the tools… no matter where you are, art rooms always have that wonderfully distinctive scent. I found a perfectly sized sketchbook in the closet and grabbed a couple pencils. While in there, I couldn’t help but peruse their marker and pastel sections too. 

“Ooh, I love pastels,” I said, picking up an orange pastel crayon. “So vibrant.”

“They’re very vivid,” Kiyo said, poking his head out of my pocket. 

“The tricky part is not smudging them like crazy while you’re using them.” I moved to put the pastel back in its box, then stopped. I placed it on the table. “Hey Kiyo, can you stand next to this? I wanna see if it’s taller than you!”

Kiyo obliged. “Sure.” I picked him up and set him on the table, propping the vibrant orange pastel up next to him. 

“Heh. It’s bigger than I am,” he said, seeming to have a sense of humor about it.

“Sorry, but that never gets old,” I said. “It’ll be a relief when you’re back to normal, but right now, it’s fantastic being able to carry you around with me.”

Kiyo sat on the table. He was relaxed, but his posture was as elegant as usual.

“Being travel-sized does have its perks,” he said. “After all, I get to hang out with you.”

“Aww,” I said. “The scary anthropologist is getting all mushy.”

“Scary?” he said. He threw his dark hair back and put his hand up to his cheek, giving me an enigmatic grin. 

“Hey, stay just like that,” I said. “That pose.” I opened the sketchbook, flipped to the first page and began to draw what I saw. 

“Ah, I see what’s going on here. ‘Draw me like one of your French girls!’”

“Yep,” I said. “Hopefully this won’t end like the Titanic.”

I brought my face closer to him, close enough to see all the details of his face. I sketched him for quite awhile, losing track of time. When the drawing was done, I smiled and showed it to him. “It’s a bit cartoony, but that’s my style,” I said.

“It’s beautiful,” said Kiyo. 

_“You’re_ beautiful,” I replied.

He moved closer to me, pulling off his black mask, and I leaned into him and we started making out. Eventually he removed his shirt, and I put him partly into my mouth, licking and kissing his body. 

_Yes. Oh, yes. You taste amazing._

After awhile I pulled him out, grinning from ear. My body felt warm and heavy. Kiyo had a major blush going on. His voice was breathy. “Mmm, wish I was regular size right now,” he said with a naughty look in his eye. 

“Oh, yeah?” I said, and pulled him closer to me. 

He said, “There’s some things I’d like to do to you.”

“Yeah? Like what?"

“I’d hold you in my arms, and push you up against the wall…”

“Oh, Kiyo,” I said. I felt myself getting wet. 

He continued with his description. I found myself incredibly turned on.

About half an hour later...

I brought Kiyo back up towards my face. I had to catch my breath. “Kiyo...I’m really… _really_ looking forward to your curse going away.”

We kissed again, more tenderly this time. 

“Me too. If it does…” Kiyo muttered to himself. 

I stopped. “Hm?”

“This curse…” he said solemnly. “Unfortunately, this curse may be a hard one to lift. It might…” He sighed. “I'm sorry to tell you this, but it might never go away.”

“Why? What is it exactly?”

“I’ll…I’ll tell you another time.” He came towards me to make out again, but my curiosity superseded it.

“Kiyo,” I said, feeling annoyed, “Don’t you trust me? Why can’t you tell me what’s up with your curse?”

“It’s complicated. It’s…embarrassing. The reason I got it is...shameful. But I promise to explain it to you someday.”

I sighed. 

“All right. Keep it a secret. Anyway, want to get that anthropology book from my room? Then we should get back to the computer room. Just in case anything happens.”

I put him back in my pocket and headed back to the dorm. On our way there, we ran into Kaito. 

“Aahhh!” he shouted, startled. Then he looked at Kiyo in my shirt pocket and cringed. “Sorry, you scared me, -----. And you scared me too…”

“It’s just us,” I laughed. “Don't freak out. We’re just grabbing some stuff from the dorm and the art lab.”

The tiny anthropologist peered at Kaito. “Why are you here?” he inquired. “Weren’t you with the others in the VR world?”

“I dunno what happened, man,” Kaito said. “I was with them, then all of a sudden, I was, like, kicked from the server or something!”

“Was everything in the room normal when you left the game?” asked Kiyo.

“Everyone was still plugged in. There wasn’t anything weird that I could see.”

“We’re gonna head back there to supervise,” I explained to Kaito. He looked at my sketchpad. 

“You gonna draw everyone while they’re unconscious and drooling?” Kaito joked. 

“I wasn’t going to. But now that you mention it, that sounds hilarious. Basically, I just grabbed this stuff so we have some entertainment while we’re babysitting.”

“Well, have fun,” said Kaito. “I might take a nap or something.” He started coughing. The cough lasted longer than usual and got pretty loud. 

“Hey, Kaito, you okay?” I said, sidling up to him and thumping him on the back. He pulled a handkerchief from his pink jacket and hacked into it while I helped whack him on the back. A few seconds later, his harsh cough had ended. He spat something into the handkerchief and put it back in his pocket. “Uggh. Just a cough, is all. I’m fine.”

Kiyo said, “That’s not the first time you’ve coughed like that.”

"Are you okay?" I asked.

“I said it’s fine,” said Kaito. “That just happens to me from time to time.”

“Okay, Kaito. See you around.” _I hope he's okay._

We headed up to the computer lab. 

Kaito sighed as the two of them disappeared into the school building. He pulled his handkerchief back out and examined the spots of blood in it.  
“Hope this doesn’t get any worse,” he said to himself. 

Kiyo and I were on the stairs going back to the computer room when every monitor flicked on. 

_DING DONG BING BONG!_

_A body has been discovered!_

My blood felt like ice. I glanced down at Korekiyo. “Uh oh,” he said, wearing an expression of surprise. 

“Oh shit!” I cried, and started walking faster.

_What did they get up to while we were gone?_


	19. A Surprise Announcement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fast-forward to a week or so later, when a shocking secret is revealed.

A week passed. Kiyo and the girl’s bond got stronger, as did the bonds between them and the other students, and Miu’s new invention turned out to be an incredible virtual world that ran on a massive mainframe. After the proud unveiling, everyone wanted to experience it for themselves. Kiyo and the girl opted out and instead, they went to the dorm to relax for a while before going back to the mainframe room to check on everyone. Unfortunately, a murder had occurred by the time they got back there. The resulting investigation and class trial concluded that Kokichi had manipulated Gonta into killing Miu, and after witnessing Gonta’s particularly grisly and distressing execution, the survivors were once again fighting despair.

Through it all, Kiyo and the girl’s relationship helped them maintain hope. But neither one realized that that was about to change.

* * * * *

That afternoon, every Monokuma screen clicked on.

“ATTENTION! ATTENTION! EVERYONE PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR DORM ROOMS IMMEDIATELY FOR A PERSONALIZED ANNOUNCEMENT!”

“They never made us do this before,” said Maki, interrupted in the middle of a hallway conversation with Kaito.

Keebo sighed. He was standing in the late Miu's lab, his mourning interrupted. 

“See you later, butterfly,” Gonta said, gently releasing the insect into its enclosure again. “Evil bear wanna talk to Gonta.”

Everyone else who wasn’t in their rooms felt the same annoyance.

Kiyo and the girl looked up at the screen in her room.

“What's this? Guess we have to get you to your room,” she said.

Kiyo was sitting unusually still, his eyes registering a hint of alarm.

“What is it, Kiyo?”

“You…might see something you don’t want to see in there.” He stared at the wall as he said this.

The girl laughed. “Oh, it’s okay. I know you’ve got some weird ‘extracurricular activities.’”

The anthropologist spoke gravely. “Just let me in there and get out quickly.”

“Ookay,” she said. _At first I thought it’d be some weird sex stuff, but from the concern on his face, it must be something worse._ Her curiosity intensified, as did her worry.

After Kiyo climbed into her hands, she walked out of her room and into his.

Her eyes couldn’t help but scan the room for this weird thing Kiyo was so worried about. She didn’t see anything on his bed, just dark blue covers swept aside since the last time he’d gotten out of them. 

Lots of really cool decorative artifacts littered the room, and there was a faint smell of incense. 

_Nothing too weird that I can see._

“Put me down anywhere, please, the floor’s fine,” he said briskly.

“I can’t leave you on the floor,” she said. In a split second, she turned towards Kiyo’s desk, deciding the easiest thing would be to set him down there.

Kiyo’s heart dropped.

“Wait, what’s this?” the girl asked, drawn to the items on his desktop. 

“Don’t look at those, they’re not important-“ he sputtered, but it was already too late.

The girl leaned in towards the desk, examining what was on the pieces of paper curiously. Her eyebrows shot up as she saw the diagram and read the inscriptions. Concern, then fear swept over her like a gathering storm.


	20. The Shocking Truth

The girl was shocked. She dropped Kiyo rather roughly onto the desk. 

“Y-you…” she trembled, barely able to speak. _“You_ wrote this?” 

“I-it’s not…” said Kiyo before his words broke off.

It was hard to deny. The blueprints sat right there on the desk in his dorm room, clear as crystal.

Written on the blueprints was a diagram of the plan Korekiyo had laid out for the séance killing: the Caged Dog artifact, the cloth, the rope, the scythe, and the cut crosspieces for the floorboard.

Everything was meticulously planned out and every detail had been accounted for.

“Victim: must be female, could be anyone except for Miu or Maki.”

And it was in his handwriting.

A small note at the bottom said: “BURN THIS AFTER GATHERING NECESSARY MATERIALS.”

The girl stared at Kiyo incredulously.

“Victim…could be _anyone?_ You could have killed me.”

Kiyo looked her in the eyes. Normally he’d have no qualms about denying something like this, but…something stopped him. He’d seen that look of horror many times on many faces, but the disappointment in her eyes…it was getting to him. He looked back at the blueprint, imagined her being the one killed by his plan, and a feeling of revulsion swelled within his chest. This would have been the perfect plan…one that would have sent another lovely victim his sister’s way. He’d made plans to kill many times before, so why did this one feel so wrong? 

Had the Mask of Judgment done this to him somehow? 

The fear on the girl’s face intensified. She pulled the chair away from the desk, as if he might jump onto it and escape, and staggered backwards, falling onto the bed. She jumped off it, disgusted at touching the place where he had slept, and stood in the middle of the room again. 

“You were going to be…a murderer…” 

Tears stung at her eyes. She couldn’t stop them from flowing as the rage of betrayal ignited in her heart. She jumped up off the bed and stood up, walking with heavy footsteps toward Kiyo. “You _asshole!_ I’ve been… _harboring_ you, all this time, when you’d planned a murder! You were going to kill somebody!” 

Kiyo tried to speak, but he didn’t know what to say. Seeing it all laid out like that felt so…cold. He’d grown attached to this girl, and imagining her being the one killed by his trap made him sick. He was seeing himself through her eyes now – a cruel, inhuman, disgusting murderer.

“Got nothing to say?” said the girl derisively. 

She stepped forward, grabbed him firmly and held him up upside down by one boot. Kiyo struggled like a captured butterfly. 

“I should have just left you in that lab. No…I should have squished you under my shoe. That's what you deserve.” 

Something inside Kiyo broke. He stopped struggling. “…You should do it.” 

Despite her rage, she paused. 

“Just…kill me now. You have every right to. I’m just a murderer, anyway.” 

“You’re a murderer... _already?_ What are you saying, Kiyo?" 

“Yes, I….” he stopped speaking, then continued. _I don’t know why I’m telling her this. Every instinct says not to._ “I promised my Sister I’d get her 100 friends…truth be told, I’m really close to that number.” 

“F-friends?” the girl repeated, totally flummoxed. 

Kiyo sighed. “I'll just lay it all out there. The two of us…were more than just siblings. Our love… knew no bounds.” The smile on his face was disturbingly serene. “When Keiko died, I swore to send one hundred worthy girls to heaven to be her friends. Some have called me a demon. This culture would call me…a serial killer.” 

The girl was dumbfounded. This couldn't possibly be true... 

“Something’s changed. The past few weeks…I can hardly sleep. Since I was cursed, and since I’ve been with you…I can’t imagine doing these things. They feel…disgusting. Sister would be so disappointed. She won’t even talk with me anymore. Your hate is justified. These things I’ve done must seem…unforgivable." His left hand flew up to his face, dug under his hat and into his hair. He looked pained, but resigned to his fate. “I don’t blame you for killing me. Just…please, do it quickly.” 

The girl was crestfallen. She said in a low, flat tone, “Why are you telling me this?” 

He brought his head up slightly, but couldn't bear to look at her. “I don’t know. But please…just kill me. You’d be able to get away with it. Escape this place. Go back to your normal life.” 

\------ thought of throwing him into her mouth and swallowing him. But he'd probably enjoy that. She could tape his little limbs to the desk, take his switchblade down from the shelf and _really_ make him suffer… 

_What the hell? Where are these thoughts coming from?_ She couldn't let his evil rub off on her. 

Plus, she still had feelings for the anthropologist. 

Stupid feelings. Had their conversations, the bond they’d forged meant anything? The way he laughed at her dumb jokes? The things they’d done these last few weeks? The feeling of him warm in her hand, smiling up at her, just before she kissed him… 

It was ridiculous to think they had a relationship. 

Trembling, the girl set Korekiyo back on the desk. She went to his bed, pulled the covers over her head, smelled his sweet masculine scent, and cried. 

_Kiyo was a killer. Everyone was right all along. How could I have been so stupid?!_

Well, Kiyo couldn’t hurt her now. He couldn’t hurt anyone, at least in this state. But the girl felt so betrayed that she had to cry. After that…she’d figure out what to do. 

__

A cartoonish noise signaled Monokuma’s arrival. _Goddamnit,_ \----- thought. 

__

“Puhuhuhuhu! Are you going to _kill_ Korekiyo? He deserves it, you know. And you _fell_ for him?!” Monokuma threw his head back and laughed, exposing all his sharp teeth. “Upuhahahahaa!” 

__

He continued gleefully, “Imagine Kirumi and Kaede’s murders, _fifty times over! That’s how evil he is!_ If you kill him, you’d be doing _everyone_ a favor!!” 

__

The girl didn’t move under the covers. She was curled up into the smallest ball possible.

__

“Go away, Monokuma,” she said, utterly deflated. 

__

“I can _taste_ the despair!” 

__

She just sighed. 

__

Monokuma turned, looking at Kiyo with delight. _“You_ sure picked a strange time to grow a heart!! That whole ordeal with the mask surprised even me! And could it be?! You’ve actually grown _attached_ to this girl!” 

__

Kiyo looked at Monokuma with dead eyes. Then a spasm of emotion overcame him. He bent down, putting his hands up to his face and wishing he was dead. 

__

“Or are you planning to kill her too, even at this size? Why, you could place that knife to her jugular some night and _jump_...or slip one of those poisons in her coffee-oh wait, you’d need to hitch a ride with someone to get to _that_ floor…” 

__

“LEAVE US!” Kiyo hissed furiously, tears in his eyes. 

__

Monokuma shrugged. “Oh well, I know when I’m not wanted. Enjoy sitting there in silence…” 

__

And he disappeared to God knows where. 

__


	21. A Mathematical Impossibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something doesn't add up. Will this bring our characters hope, or lead to even greater despair?

I don’t know how long the crying lasted, but in the middle of my emotional breakdown, an idea popped up. I wiped my eyes blearily and blew my nose onto the pillowcase. If Kiyo didn’t like me blowing my nose on there, too bad. He shouldn’t have killed all those people.

“Wait,” I thought. It made a good story, but what Monokuma had told me about Kiyo couldn’t possibly be true. It didn’t make logical sense. 

“Hey,” I said. “Psycho killer. I’m talking to you.”

He looked up from his seat across the room. His puny form was still seated on top of his desk, dwarfed by the blueprints.

“One hundred people? Is that true?”

“I’m close to it. It’s either eighty-seven or eighty-eight, I can’t remember exactly how many.” He put his head back in his hands. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

_Just like a humanities major to round up._

“You can’t remember exactly how many..?!” The thought chilled me to the bone. “But see, that’s impossible. It can’t be.”

“I don’t expect you to understand it. Honestly, most of them blur together…”

“No, think about it. When was your first…” The word “kill” sounded so impersonal. But saying the word wouldn’t change anything. “How old were you when you first killed?”

“I was around 16.”

“Holy…” I suppressed my disgust. “Well, let’s think about it logically. You’re eighteen, right?”

“Yes.”

“Me too. Anyway, let’s round it up to 100 kills…that’s 100 over two years…so about seven hundred thirty days…”

His eyebrows went up. “That’s right…Though I didn’t just turn eighteen, so its more like 800 days. But as you were saying…”

“That means you must have killed about one person every week, or week and a half.”

He paused. “I did kill them.”

“One every week? How is that even possible? You said there were times you did fieldwork in the same area for like a month at a time.” 

“I…was very prolific.”

“Did anyone notice? Surely you couldn’t have gone too crazy in the same village for long, or people would find you out.”

“They beat me pretty severely in one village. I was lucky they didn’t kill me. The chief’s daughter convinced them…”

I rolled my eyes. 

“Oh my God! Enough with Disney’s Pocahontas! What about breaks from fieldwork? Breaks from school? Didn’t you go home for Christmas or anything?”

At the thought, a chill ran down my spine. Oh, no. The thought of him murdering people at Christmas…it was just wrong. 

_Of course it’s wrong! It’s wrong all the other times of the year, too!_

Korekiyo was starting to look confused.

“What about at your high school, Kiyo? With classes and homework and stuff, how’d you find the time to get to know, then murder all those victims…outside of school?”

He scratched the back of his head. A weird feral look came over his eyes.

“Especially if your classmates found you creepy…instead of nonthreatening and charming like, say, Shuichi…or Kaede…”

“What you’re saying…makes absolute sense. The amount of killing…I can’t explain it. But it did happen. I did...murder those people. Thinking about it now, the magnitude of it…disgusts me…”

“Something doesn’t add up.” It’s not like he’d be a good person if there were only ten victims, or five…but still. Eighty-seven or eighty-eight victims…the numbers just weren’t right.

"You're still a sick murderer, Kiyo," I said. "Just because the numbers don't add up, it doesn't mean I forgive you. I'm so fucking angry at you, I can hardly think straight. I'm gonna go talk with some people." Before he could reply, I picked him up, opened his wardrobe door, and placed him on a shelf in its dark depths. Then I closed the door.

Needing a break from those feelings and that room, I exited the dorm. First, I headed over to the Entomology Lab to find Gonta. He was such a sweet, innocent soul, and talking with him would definitely make me feel better. My plan after that was to see if I could find Tsumugi, since I hadn't talked with her much at all. It would be good to get to know her a little better. She seemed like a pleasant enough person, if a little boring, and was pretty much guaranteed to be mellow. I couldn't handle any more drama today. I wiped away a tear and forced a smile, looking forward to seeing my classmates.


	22. Flashbacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Contains some flashbacks to bullying and domestic violence during a character's childhood. If that's disturbing, this chapter can be skipped.

She had trapped him in the wardrobe hours ago. At first Kiyo just sat quietly, elegant legs folded beneath himself. It was difficult attempting to meditate right now. He tried to do what he usually did – acknowledge unpleasant feelings and then flick them out of his mind- but the conflict before this had been so emotionally charged, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. I did bad things – I’m a bad person. All those innocent girls…Oh God. They all had lives, loves, hopes for the future…and I fucking killed them. How could I have done that to them? It’s as if he’d been seeing in black and white all his life, and in the last few weeks, colors were starting to return. 

_It was inevitable ----- would find out my secret sooner or later. I’ll never kill again, but…how could she possibly forgive me? Can I even forgive myself? Have I really changed at all?_

The weight of Kiyo’s guilt threatened to overwhelm him.

He went over and over what he would say when his captor got back. 

A few hours later, Kiyo’s distress had increased. Deep in meditation, he kept trying to tune in to that certain communication frequency, but it wasn’t working. The frequency, the spirit realm, the collective unconscious, whatever you wanted to call it, was hidden from him. Finally he started crying out for her. 

“Keiko! Please talk to me! I’ll do anything! I know you probably hate what I’ve done, but please! TALK TO ME! I’LL DO…I’LL DO ANYTHING!”

Anything? He knew that was a lie.

The things he used to do for her, he could never do again.

“Keiko, -----, anyone! LET ME OUT OF HERE!”

It wasn’t much good – the rooms were soundproof, at least according to Monokuma.  
If his elementary school classmates were here, they’d surely have a laugh at his expense. Sissy boy Korekiyo’s trapped in the closet! They always teased him for his closeness with his sister as well the effort he put into his fashion style.

_“Korky wants to be a girl!” several boys shouted at recess. Kiyo was sitting under a tree, reading._

_“No I don’t!” he’d say back at them._

_“He never plays kickball with us, he’d rather brush his girly hair!”_

_“Go play dollies with your big sister!”_

_“Go away!” Korekiyo shouted._

_Keiko strode up to the boys angrily. She was a couple years older than them, and taller.  
“Don’t make fun of my brother! He’s cooler than you’ll ever be!”_

_His classmates howled with laughter._

_Keiko brandished her arm at them. “Go away, or I’ll…I’ll punch you!”_

_One said, “Ooh, Kiyo needs his sister to protect him!”_

_Sister charged at one boy, and they all scattered._

_Keiko looked at Kiyo and gave him a big hug. Her posturing over, she was back to her normal soft voice and sweet demeanor. “It’s okay, Kiyo,” she said. “They’re a bunch of idiots. Who cares about them!”_

_“Thank you,” he squeaked out, happy she’d helped him but ashamed he couldn’t defend himself. He started to cry._

_“Don’t let them scare you,” she said, pulling away from the hug. “If you’re a little mean, they won’t mess with you. You gotta scare them a little bit. I can teach you.”_

_“Yeah..s-screw them!” Kiyo said, a little smile appearing on his face. The profanity on his lips felt secret, powerful._

The teasing was bad at school, but it was much worse at home once his stepfather arrived.

The taunts exploded back into his mind. 

_“I can’t believe my son’s a faggot!” his stepdad screamed one night, throwing a beer bottle against the wall._

_“I’m not,” said Kiyo, trembling as he stood there in the kitchen. His mom had left the house, not able to bear his stepdad’s rage._

_“Then cut your damned hair and stop acting like one! What the fuck is this?!” he raged, lifting a tube of mascara into the air with two fingers as if it were a particularly disgusting insect._

_Korekiyo had no response to that. He just stood there with no expression on his face._

_“Nothing to say to me, huh? I swear, it’s like talking to a brick wall!”_

_His stepfather hurled the mascara at him all of a sudden. Kiyo dodged it. The tube cracked against the wall, splattering black ink everywhere._

_“Clean that shit up!!” thundered the angry man. Kiyo’s legs were shaking, his mind screamed for revenge, but all he could do was walk over stone-faced and pick up the pieces._

_“And you spend way too much time with your bitch sister! Is she trying to pervert you, dressing you like this?”_

_Kiyo leapt forward with a white-hot rage. “Don’t you say anything about my sister,” he growled. He was only 11, but he temporarily forgot the size difference between him and the angry man in front of him. “She’s the only one who actually cares about me! You’re just an asshole!”_

_“That’s it, you little shit!” his stepdad cried, grabbing Kiyo and throwing him head-first into Kiyo’s room, locking the door behind him. “You think you can talk to me like that?! Think again!” He punched a hole in the wall, and Kiyo shuddered._

_I wish Sister hadn’t been at her sleepover tonight, Kiyo thought. She would have been able to stop him._

A sudden click at the door brought Kiyo back to the present day. He shuddered. 

Seconds later, the wardrobe door opened. The visible motes of dust in the air were illuminated, then obliterated by the light of the room.


	23. How Could You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girl wonders: If Kiyo's a serial killer, wouldn't ridding the world of him be the right thing to do?
> 
> This chapter's a little dark, but it turns out alright.

I opened the closet. Kiyo blinked as light flooded in. I closed my hand over him swiftly, took him across the room, held my hand a couple inches above his desk and let him tumble out onto it. He made a small noise of discomfort. 

“How could you, Kiyo? _How could you kill those girls?”_

Now that Kiyo’s crimes had been revealed, I was angry. I wanted to make him suffer. I reached into the desk drawer, brushed aside some weird foreign trinkets and pulled out a roll of Scotch tape. The anthropologist said calmly, “What are you doing with that?”

I broke off some lengths of tape. While Kiyo protested, I pulled his diminutive arms up slightly above his head and taped them to the desk. The little dude tried madly to escape, but even Scotch tape could hold him at this size. It was kind of funny. A giggle escaped as I taped his legs down too.

Kiyo floundered. “Please, -----! Let me go! I’d never hurt you, you don’t understand-“

“Oh, I understand. I understand you’re a murderer. Now shut up, or the next piece is going over your mouth.”

At this, Kiyo went silent.

There was a folding knife on the shelf by some of his books. It was old looking, like it had been used or at least carried around a lot. The handle was worn, with little scratches and some of the metal plating wearing away. _Wonder if he murdered anyone with this._ I picked it up, and it made a small thud as I set it down on top of the desk. Kiyo’s yellow eyes started to show real fear.

“You’re a serial killer, so I really should put you out of your misery. For the good of everyone.”

“Please…don’t…” he begged.

I snapped off another piece of tape, pulled his mask off and put the tape over his mouth. This way he could still breathe out his nose. Kiyo tried to scream. He couldn't.

An odd thrill coursed through me. _He’s evil. He deserves this._

“You were right earlier. I should kill you, dispose of the evidence, and then escape this place. Before, when I said I’d never hurt you…that was before it turned out you were a serial killer. If you got out of this school alive, who knows how many more people you’d hurt?”

He stared at me, unable to say anything with that gag in his mouth. 

“You’re probably enjoying this, huh? Here you are taped to a desk, and I can do whatever I want with you. Ooh la la. Maybe I’ll cut your head off. Or maybe I’ll take your knife and gut you with it. I could even just throw you in your own toilet and flush you. Any of those would be more than you deserve. You’re a _sick man.”_

I picked up the knife and flicked it open for emphasis.

Kiyo was trembling violently now. A look of pure terror was plain on his face.

As I looked at the anthropologist, really looked at him, the rage started to subside. _What the hell am I doing? Am I really gonna kill somebody?_ Korekiyo looked terrified. As much as he deserved to die, violently, the look on his face was disturbing. The poor guy looked about to piss his pants. 

The terror in Kiyo's face…I imagined watching the life bleed out of him, regretting it forever… _No! Poor Kiyo. I could never hurt you._

I remembered the moment the curse fell on him in the anthropology lab. Standing in front of that creepy mask, he’d shrunk down to two or three inches right before my eyes, terrified, cringing, certain I was going to hurt him, until I convinced him to climb into my hands for the first time…the joy and happiness as he told me about his fieldwork and asked about my life…that time we were in the Art lab and I’d drawn him making that ridiculous pose…the panic I’d felt when he’d fallen out of my pocket outside and the joy when we’d been reunited again.

Despite what he’d done, my brain couldn’t forget those memories. 

Little Kiyo was depending on me, while I was entertaining notions of killing him. I’d just looked him in the eye and threatened to _end his life._ Oh God. There was a sudden urge to cuddle Kiyo in my arms. To comfort him, to tell him everything was going to be alright…

 _That’s even more twisted than just killing him!_ said a little voice in my head. _He’s a murderer! He deserves to die!_

_And if you kill him, you’ll be a murderer too._

“Kiyo,” I said slowly. “Kiyo, I’m…I’m so sorry.” I put down the knife and shoved it away. It skidded off the desk and onto the floor. The anthropologist kept trembling, staring at me with that horrible fear on his face.

I began undoing the tape that restrained his arms. 

“I…can’t hurt you. You probably deserve it, but I can’t. I’m…so sorry to have threatened you like that.” Kiyo looked so confused and afraid, I started to cry. 

The tape snapped as it came off his legs. “But Kiyo…I need proof that you won’t hurt me. And proof that you’ll never kill people again.”

“I…can’t…prove it…” A tear rolled down the corner of his eye. He was still shaking.

“H-how can I ever trust you again? I liked you, it seemed like you liked me…but it turns out you’re just a psycho.” 

“How can I trust _you?_ Y-you just pulled a knife on me…you said you were going to kill me!”

We were both crying like nobody’s business. I picked him up and cradled him, pressing him to my face. “Oh my God, Kiyo, I’m so sorry…” I wiped tears off my face. “I could never hurt you. But you understand that…I can never forgive you.”

“Thank you…for not killing me. Please, I’m not a psycho. I’ve done some terrible, evil things but something’s...it's changed inside me. I could never kill anyone anymore. Please believe me.”

“I wish I could believe you. I really wish I could. If there was only some way…” 

Kiyo looked at me with sorrow and shame.

I suddenly felt desperate to escape this room. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry…” I said to him. I wiped my eyes and grabbed my swimsuit. “I'll leave you alone. I’m going to see if anyone wants to go to the pool. Are…are you okay?”

He lifted a thumbs-up shakily into the air. I laughed mirthlessly. He was clearly not okay.

I opened the wardrobe door to put Kiyo back inside. I filled a bottlecap with water and set it inside for him. Another bottlecap as usual, for…well, let’s not talk about that one.

Kiyo sat down on the shelf as I shut the door. 

Almost ready to leave, I paused. I grabbed my Mag-Lite, then left the room.


	24. Trust Exercise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desperate to show the girl that he has changed, Kiyo asks the Mask of Judgment for a favor.

The next day around noon, I opened the wardrobe door for the first time since breakfast, took Korekiyo out of its darkness, and placed him on the desk. “Don’t take this the wrong way. I’m not forgiving you. But solitary confinement is actual torture, and I don’t wanna torture you. Just…sit on your desk and write notes or something, Kaito and I are gonna watch a movie.”

I set him on his desk, then placed the bottlecap containing tiny portions of lunch next to him. 

The anthropologist gesticulated wildly. “Please, talk to me! I’m not going to kill you! I’m not going to kill anyone anymore.”

“Yeah right. If our roles were reversed, you wouldn’t hesitate for one minute! You’d do what you do best, and murder me so you could win the game!”

“I wouldn’t! If you were my size right now, I’d never harm you! Something’s changed lately. I have no more desire…to kill.” He threw his tiny arms wide as if praying. “Mask, if what I say is true, please prove to her that I mean her no harm.”

I gave him a withering look. “Seriously?” _It’s supposed to be telepathic now?_

Far across campus, the Mask of Judgment shuddered on its hooks.

“Really, Kiyo? I’ve seen enough crime shows, people like you don’t change! I’m not trusting a single word you-"

Suddenly, Kiyo’s limbs, torso, and head all stretched and swelled to full size. Within two or three seconds, the anthropologist was back at his full six foot two. Gorgeous black hair cascaded down his shoulders. _He’s beautiful._ I shook myself back to reality. _This man has killed people. He could easily murder you._ Still seated on the desk, Korekiyo lifted himself off it gracefully with powerful arms. His feet hit the floor with a firm thud.

Before I could react, things got worse. Kiyo seemed to be growing again, but then I realized he wasn’t the only one growing. The desk was slowly inching upwards, as was the door in the distance.

“Oh my God…” I said in disbelief. I stared at the door, too petrified to run to it. 

Now Kiyo’s jacket hem was at my eye level. I was shrinking. And the only one who knew about it, the only one who could possibly help, was the depraved killer standing in front of me.

My heart hammered, the hairs on my arms stood up. _This can’t be happening…_ I took a few more steps back, staring at the anthropologist in his military outfit. Now, I only came up to his knee. Kiyo took a slow step towards me. It vibrated the floor.

I screamed, “Get away from me!” 

The anthropologist stopped approaching me. He looked down with an almost tender expression. Those eyes…they were the last thing so many people had seen. I tried not to look at them. 

I kept shrinking. Now the desk, the chair, and even those black boots looked gigantic. I was about the size Korekiyo had just been. Just a few inches tall.

I stared up at his towering form in absolute horror. There was no other logical choice but for him to kill me and win the game.

“Please…” I breathed, unable to speak any louder than a whisper.

Kiyo took another step forward. I had a sudden fear of those black boots smushing me into the floor. 

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you,” he said delicately. 

His arm started to move. “Don’t touch me!” I cried. He stopped mid-reach, making a pained expression.

Instinct told me running would make the situation worse.

Kiyo said, “Sorry to scare you. Your fear is understandable. It’s how I felt when the mask first cursed me.”

I blurted, “You weren’t being held captive by a _serial killer!”_

“Ex-serial killer. And I’m not ‘holding you captive.’ Feel free to escape out the door. I’ll open it for you. Or…if you prefer, I can take you to Shuichi. Surely you’d feel safe with him.”

He moved into a squatting position, still insanely tall. His eyes showed a hint of amusement.

“Kehehe. Don’t be afraid. It’s just me, Little Korekiyo.” 

My legs were shaking.

He said seriously, “You need to get off the floor. That’s a hazardous place to be right now.”

Kiyo extended a palm onto the ground. He stared into my eyes with an expression that seemed sincere. “Please. Just… trust me.” 

Was there really a choice? 

I stared at the car-sized hand, then at its owner.

I screamed, “You’re not gonna Ted Bundy _my ass!”_ and ran under the bed. I got all the way to the far back wall, then sat down, trembling.

It was cool and shady under here.

Kiyo sighed. “You realize I could easily lift that bed and pick you up, right?”

_Oh no._

I expected an olive-sleeved arm to snake under the bed and grab me, but it never came.

“If I intended you harm, I’d have done it by now.”

A few seconds passed. "Oh Amaterasu," he said with a silky chuckle, "won't you come out of your cave?"

It wasn't funny. “You…you killed people…” I said, unable to hold back the tears any longer. “Even if you never hurt me, you’re _evil_ …Only someone evil could do what you did! I took you in, kept your curse a secret as long as possible...I even got _feelings_ for you– and now, it turns out you’re a murderer! That’s like every girl’s worst nightmare! You're a murderer, and all you care about is yourself!” 

After a few seconds he spoke. His voice had that odd, faraway tone again. “I don’t just care about myself. All the things I did back then, I did…for Sister. Not that that makes -”

“You’re insane, Kiyo!” I cried. “You’re _literally insane!_ If your sister were here right now, do you think she’d want you killing people?” 

“She-"

“No! From what you’ve told me, she wouldn’t at all! She seems like a wonderful person!”

What was I doing? Was I really arguing with someone a hundred times my size?

“You might be right,” he said. “Before, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill for Sister…especially someone like you. My sister would love to have you as a friend.”

I shivered. _He’s acknowledging I’d be the perfect target._

“But something’s changed. When I think about killing…and my promise to her…it no longer brings joy. I feel…ashamed. Disgusted. The mask has proven that I’m not a threat to you, but perhaps it will take longer to prove I’ve renounced murder. This curse…when it’s lifted, that should finally show it to you. The Mask of Judgment knows, you see. When it curses someone…it becomes bound to their soul.”

“Holy shit, Kiyo,” I said. “Holy shit…”

“It must sound crazy, but…I mean, I can show you one of the papers it’s in. It’s a famous and well-known artifact.” 

I didn’t know how to respond to that. 

“Anyway, please trust me, nothing bad will happen to you.”

With that, Kiyo got down and lay supine on the ground. It didn’t look very comfortable without a pillow. He folded his arms across his chest, sighed, and closed his eyes.  
He lay there, and I sat in the shadows under the bed, for a long time. 

Korekiyo was so quiet and still, he must have been either meditating or asleep. I don’t know how long we both stayed there. Maybe an hour, maybe longer.  
The adrenaline faded away, and I started to reflect on the situation.

_He has a point. If he was planning to kill me, he would have by now. Maybe I’ll trust him just a little bit._

_No, you can never trust him. Whatever you do, stay put!_

“Kiyo?”

He turned his head. “Yes?” he said softly.

“When’s this mask going to switch us back?”

“I suspect it may happen when I gain your trust. Or at least proven that I don’t intend to kill you.”

“Well then. Guess I’ll be three inches tall forever.”

“I’ll be here if you change your mind.”

He closed his eyes, seeming to meditate again. A question burned in my mind.

“What is the mask’s curse, anyway? You’ve been refusing to tell me.”

Kiyo turned towards me and opened his eyes. “The Mask of Judgment’s curse…has three parts. First off, I need to vow to stop killing innocents, and never do it again. Second, I need to confess my crimes. Third…'love needs to enter my heart,’ whatever that means. I might need to demonstrate this in some way.”

“If you’re the type of person I think you are, you’ll never care about anyone but yourself.”

“It’s probably impossible to convince you of this, but…I do care for you. And something HAS changed in me. Maybe the mask cured me or something.” He looked up at the ceiling again. “Or maybe…it was seeing the world from a different perspective.”

I couldn’t bear these emotions any more. Cautiously, I started walking towards him.

After what felt like a city block’s worth of walking, I was near the edge of the bed.

Kiyo turned and looked at me. There was vulnerability and sadness in his face.

“Please,” he breathed, “Nothing could possibly make up for my crimes, but know this. I’ll never hurt you. Even now, with the opportunity of winning the killing game…you’re perfectly safe. -----…you mean a lot to me. You’re smart…and cute…you even listen to me ramble about anthropology. With you around, being trapped in this school, in this ridiculous game…it doesn’t feel so bad. Please, just trust me.”

He extended a long hand and set it delicately onto the ground, palm up.

“Let me help you, the way you helped me.”

_This Mask of Judgment believes that he’s no longer a threat – that’s why it switched our places right now. I wouldn’t trust Kiyo, but so far, everything that mask is reputed to do has been proven right._

_Oh well,_ I figured, and took a couple steps toward Kiyo.


	25. A reversal, and some fun with Kaito and Maki

The hand being proffered to me was gigantic. I tried not to look at the enormous person looming over me as I stepped into the warm palm.

Its heat radiated into me. I was lifted into the air, like the first hill on a roller coaster. I looked up into those golden eyes, feeling like a mouse that had been caught by a lion. I dropped back into his palm.

Was this really a good decision?

“So, Little Ms. Scientist. You decided to trust in the supernatural this time, huh?” Kiyo said with a little smirk.

I met his gaze, willing myself not to be afraid. “I guess, yeah. Not that there’s much choice.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell your future college professors about your belief in magical artifacts.”

“You better not.”

_You won’t find this stuff in a peer reviewed journal._

Kiyo looked at me seriously. “I will never harm you,” he said in a tender voice, and brought the palm with me in it up to his chest. He brought his right hand over it and cupped the two hands together over his heart. “And I forgive you for brandishing weapons at me.”

Pressed so close to his chest, I could hear Kiyo’s heartbeat. It sounded huge and loud, reminding me how tiny I was.

This whole situation was absurd. Kiyo brought me carefully away from his chest and smiled. 

I said, “I’m sorry for brandishing weapons at you, Kiyo.”

_Eh, what’s a few death threats between friends?_

“I’m worried about you, -----,” he said. “You may have some sadistic tendencies.” He smiled as if he was only partially joking.

Gazing up at him, I suddenly got a weird vibe. I had a sudden, nightmare vision of the shiny black mask being unzipped, and me being thrown into Kiyo’s mouth, swallowed alive and lost inside his cavernous body. 

_Relax. Everything’s fine._

I lay in his palm and relaxed into his warmth.

  
_She’s so adorable and small._

Part of him thought, _YOU COULD KILL HER SO EASILY._

_No! That’s horrible, disgusting. I’d never hurt her._

_YOU’D BARELY HAVE TO LIFT A FINGER. MUCH EASIER THAN ALL THOSE OTHER GIRLS._

His eyes suddenly scrunched up with emotion. 

_How could I have done those things? I’ll never murder again. Especially her. I…really care about her._

_I THOUGHT KILLING WAS WHAT YOU DID BEST._

Kiyo turned his head and started to retch a little.

“Uh, Kiyo?” the girl asked. “Are you okay? Don’t throw up.”

The anthropologist coughed a couple of times and cleared his throat. In a completely calm voice he said, “Everything’s perfectly fine." 

_I really do care for her. It’s almost…the way I cared for Sister. How strange._

  


As I lay there, a surreal feeling of peace washed over everything. I’d surrendered complete control.

The giant anthropologist looked at me. My insides ached under his gaze. Despite everything, I still wanted him.

_This is crazy._

“Kiyo…don’t make me regret trusting you.”

“Never,” he breathed. A couple seconds later, he added, “If anyone ever tried to hurt you, I’d kill them. Creatively.”

I laughed awkwardly at the weird look in his eye. “Heh, I thought we agreed, no more of that.”

“I’d make an exception.”

I leaned over and threw my arms around his thumb, hugging it. His soft, masculine scent drifted up from his skin.

Kiyo’s face came closer. He whispered quietly, “Can I kiss you?”

“Yes,” I said.

Suddenly his mouth was on me, kissing me, feeling me, and it was as if nothing bad had ever happened.

A wild excitement rose inside of me. “Let’s sit down,” I said, glancing over at the bed.

“If you like,” he said.

Kiyo cupped me in his hands again, walked across the room, slipped his black boots off, and lay down on his bed. He set me down very softly on a pillow.

He lay down on his side like a model in a cheesy old calendar. If that model was the size of a city block and several stories tall. “It’s weird seeing something like this,” I said, staring at him.

“Seeing someone this tall? It was for me too.”

“I don’t know whether to flee in terror, or start sacrificing virgins or something. Actually…you’ve probably sacrificed enough virgins for the two of us." 

His pained expression changed to a more thoughtful one.

“There’s a human instinct for awe that gets activated when we see very large things.”

_Glad Miu’s not here to make a joke on that one._

“Every human culture has stories of giants…”

“Can you put me up there?” I pointed to his chest.

He reached for me, I winced despite telling myself I’d get used to it, then he brought me up to his chest and set me down on his olive green jacket.

His chest rose and fell quietly. Kiyo set his right hand over me, semi-flat, so that he could hold me.

“I didn’t realize the mask would _shrink_ you…” he murmured. “Or that it would actually listen to someone it cursed.”

“Yeah, I kinda wondered where you were going with that.”

“Makes me curious what else it can do. Anyway, for as long as it takes…I’ll take care of you. And hopefully someday you can trust me."

His calming voice was already making me feel better. And I was curious about some of the stories he knew. "Could...you tell me some of those myths about giants?"

He smiled gently. "I'd be happy to." After telling one to me, he stretched out his arms and said, "Ah, it's lovely to be regular size again. I can actually fit in my bed." Suddenly, as if remembering something, he raised his eyebrows and glanced across the dorm. "A real bathroom!" he cried, and placed me on his pillow as he stood up. "Excuse me, but I must attend to this."

I frowned. "You've done research in places without plumbing, haven't you?"

"Sometimes, yes, I've visited remote villages without. Once I traveled among a group of hunter gatherers who didn't bathe at all - but this is still cause for celebration!" He went merrily into the bathroom and I soon heard the blast of the showerhead.

I giggled. _That was so...chipper. Who are you, and what have you done with Korekiyo Shinguji?!_

When he came back, he was beaming. "Ah, a real shower and bath, among other things...Kehehe." He held up the top of the body wash container that until today, he'd had to lie in to bathe himself. "Now it is _your_ turn to use this as a bathtub!" 

"Way to rub it in," I said sarcastically, but it was hard not to grin. His joy was infectious.

The rest of that day, Kiyo took care of me. He brought me food, carried me wherever I wanted to go in the room, and treated me with the utmost kindness. He even told me some myths other cultures had about giants. He was a great storyteller. 

I was still wary, but my trust in Korekiyo grew. I declined to leave the room with him, though. I was too afraid to be seen by anyone else in the school.

__

The next day, Kiyo went to the dining hall. When he appeared, everyone was shocked out of their discussion about the Flashback Lights. (This is based on what he told me, since I insisted on staying in his room.)

“What’s going on?”

“You’re back to normal?”

“Where’s -----?"

“Did you murder her?” asked Kokichi. “I wouldn’t put it past a creeper like you to-”

Kiyo’s eyes blazed at the little twerp. “SILENCE, or you will regret you were _ever born…!”_

Kokichi froze. Then he smiled. “Ooh, I touched a nerve!”

“Hey, uh…” said Kaito. “Weird seeing you back to normal. Anyway, about -----. We were supposed to see a movie yesterday and she never showed.”

“Don’t worry, ----- is currently indisposed. But it’s nothing to be concerned about. If you don’t mind, can we continue our discussion of the Flashback Lights?”

And they did.

When Kiyo got back, I asked if he'd take me outside so we could read out there.

“Certainly.”

"I’d like to see what the lawn looks like at this size.”

He brought me outside and sat on the lawn with me, and we both read our books.

“Ahhh,” Kiyo said. “The pleasures of reading outside.”

The two of us sat in silence for awhile. After about fifteen minutes, I asked him to put me on his chest again. I crawled up his collar, up his neck, onto his cheek. It was soft and pillowy. “Your eyes look HUGE from this angle,” I said. I crawled over to his scarlet lips and started kissing him.

“You know what, screw it. I’m going to trust you.” 

Kiyo smiled bittersweetly.

I continued, “This is a killing game, we’re all probably going to die anyway…” I said. “If not you, it’ll be someone else who tries to kill me.”

“Don’t say that,” he said.

“It’s true. Anyway, kiss me.”

The anthropologist leaned in, with utmost delicacy, and kissed me.

My heart made the choice to trust him.

After a few seconds of canoodling, I noticed something felt off about his lips. We pulled away, and the realization hit both of us at once. Kiyo was shrinking, and I was growing. When I was about three feet tall, we were the exact same height for a fraction of a second.

I rolled off his rapidly diminishing body so it wouldn’t get squished.

“Don’t worry about me or about the killing game,” Korekiyo said. “We’ll get out of here, and you can do fieldwork with me. If…you still want to.”

Our conversation was interrupted by an obnoxious voice. It was Kokichi.

“Aww, how sweet,” he said. “Look at the two perverts. Creepy Korkster and the perv who actually likes him. Would be a shame if something happened to her,” he said with a shit-eating grin.

Almost at full size, I gave him a glare. “Go away, Kokichi.”

Korekiyo stared at Kokichi angrily, but the Ultimate Supreme Leader just thought it was hilarious. Korekiyo said in an intense voice, “Touch her, and you’ll know pain you never thought possible.” _Boys,_ the girl thought. _Kiyo, don’t take the bait._ “Maybe not now, but when my curse wears off…”

Kokichi grinned innocently. “Nee-hee-hee! You really do care. I should kill her just to see what it does to you," he said glibly. "And then squish you like a little bug.”

I really wanted to shove him, but decided not to. “You asshole. You act like this, then you’re really surprised no one likes you.”

“Everyone hates me, hahaa!" He sauntered off. "Have a lovely day!”

Korekiyo, who’d been steadily shrinking, was now around a foot in height. I was almost at normal size. Kokichi’s comments, though they were flippant and designed to annoy, had nevertheless made me uneasy.

“If you think he’s serious,” said Kiyo, “feel free to carry my knife.”

“He’s probably just trying to piss us off. But yeah, I’ll take it. Anyway, what were we talking about?”

“Me taking you on some of my research. I'd be happy to take you on fieldwork once this killing game is over...”

_Oh…that would be wonderful. Amazing._

“Don’t jinx it! You sound like that guy in every war movie who tells everyone his big plans for after the war, and then he gets shot…”

“If nothing else,” he said, “This killing game has been interesting. When trapped in adverse conditions, you make as many bad jokes as possible.”

“Psh. What are you talking about? My jokes are awesome." He was looking at me almost bashfully. "Kiyo, I'd love to do fieldwork with you."

I hugged him as he continued to shrink, then set him on my own chest. Our resident anthropologist was back to being only three inches tall.

“What a shame. I was getting used to being full size again.”

“You’re much cuter like this,” I teased, poking him with the tip of my pointer finger.

Kiyo stumbled back a little, then righted himself. “Enough of that.” He made a naughty face and smirked at me. “Next time you want to tie me up with tape, can I request arms and legs behind my back and being suspended in the air?”

“You’re really into this stuff, aren’t you?”

His eyes smoldered as he made a naughty face. “Kehehe.”

“Pervert,” I joked. “Maybe when you’re back to normal size you can show me some of that rope stuff.”

“I can’t wait,” Kiyo said with a grin. “There’s an entire world I look forward to showing you. And if you do have sadistic tendencies…there are some mutually pleasurable ways to channel them.”

I walked around the school and found Kaito on the first floor grabbing some popcorn. I apologized to him for not showing up for the movie. Kaito said he and Maki were just about to watch something else, so I went with him. I asked Kiyo if he wanted to see the movie or if he wanted to go back to the dorm. He came with us, even though he wasn’t really into action movies. Shuichi was invited, but he was wrapped up in investigating some mysterious stuff on campus.

As we watched the monster movie Kaito had chosen, Maki kept saying how silly it was. 

"Why exactly is this hurricane made of werewolves?"

"It doesn't matter, Maki Roll! Just enjoy the movie!"

"And why is that crazy fox fighting them? It just doesn't make sense," she laughed. 

"She has a point," I said, playing devil's advocate. "You'd think that since they're canines, they'd all get along."

"You've _never_ heard the legends?" Kiyo asked, flabbergasted. "The nine tailed fox protects humans and fights evil! Although, that's in Japan. _Korean_ nine tailed foxes are said to be evil beings that will eat a man's heart."

"But that nine tailed fox came down from space," I said, pointing at the screen where the fox in the spacesuit was roundhouse-kicking a werewolf. "How do we know if it's a Korean or a Japanese one?"

"Who the heck cares?!" said Kaito. "A space fox is fighting a hurricane full of werewolves and it's _awesome_!"

Cheerfully, we all tried our best to suspend disbelief. Even Maki cracked a smile.

Maki deadpanned, "In case you're wondering, I had a very sheltered upbringing. They didn't let me out much except to assassinate people. And before that, I spent all my time caring for the other kids at the orphanage. There was no time for childish fantasies or magical legends."

"Apologies," said Kiyo. "I meant nothing negative about you. It was just...surprising."

"No problem," she said. 

"Want more popcorn, Maki?" I asked, offering her the bag.

While we watched the movie, I silently wondered why Kiyo’s curse hadn’t been lifted. Confessing his crimes…check. Making a sincere vow to never kill again…check. Probably. Letting love into his heart? Well…um…from what I’d heard, real love took a long time to happen…and besides, he loved his sister, anyway. Maybe that was kind of twisted, though, seeing as it _was_ incest and he had used that love as an excuse to kill people. Yeah, that probably wasn’t what the legend meant.

My palms were starting to sweat. I wiped them off on my skirt before picking up the soft drink on the side table next to Kiyo.

The last thing I could do was ask him about it. You never asked a boy if he loved you, that was just wrong.

_This whole thing is ridiculous. He promised not to murder you, that should be enough._

I leaned over to Kiyo, who had a comically enormous piece of popcorn in his lap. He had taken a few tiny bites out of it. I whispered, “Hey, Kiyo, I wonder who’s killed more people. You or Maki.” 

He made a face. “That’s not funny.”

“She probably wouldn’t find it funny either. Anyway, the blueprints…I need to get rid of them.”

“Let’s talk about that when we get back to the dorm."

“Hey, whatcha doin’?” said Kaito. “Whispering sweet nothings in your boyfriend’s ear?”

I blushed. 

“Kaito!” said Maki. “Don’t ask what they’re talking about!”

“My lips are sealed,” said Korekiyo, and unzipped his mask just so he could zip it up again.

Everyone chuckled at that one. Even Maki.

After the movie, I took the folded blueprints outside, flicked open a lighter, and burned them. I dug a small hole, ground the ashes into it with my shoes, then covered the hole back up.

Monokuma popped up. “What a pain,” he said. “My Exisals work _so_ hard on the landscaping, and you’re giving them _more work_ to do!” 

“Surely it’s not that much work,” said Kiyo.

“And they’re robots,” I said. “I don’t think they’ll mind it.”

Keebo turned the corner towards us at that exact moment, unfortunately overhearing our comments. “That sounded robophobic! What were you saying?”

Monokuma sighed dramatically. “----- and Korekiyo here were just saying how much they HATE robots…”

“No we weren’t!” I said.

“Puhuhuhu! Just kidding!”

Kiyo said, “You can relax, Keebo. We weren’t saying anything that impinges on your humanity.”

_What a nice way to put it._

After extricating ourselves from these accusations, we ended up spending some time with the Ultimate Robot. Keebo was an odd character, though to be honest, so were the rest of us.


	26. Suffering Was Never the Point

We’d just eaten a delicious lunch, and Kiyo and I were in the anthropology lab together. Aside from the usual nonsense related to the killing game, the last few days had gone well. 

I'd made an uneasy peace with Kiyo's past, or at least what I knew of it, and the Mask of Judgment assured me that he would not kill innocents again. But I was curious. Sometimes, while waiting to fall asleep, I’d glance over at the anthropologist lying peacefully on his side, facing the wall, and wonder how bad his crimes had really been. 

He'd killed people, obviously, and that was terrible enough. But how had he done it? 

Had he tortured his victims? Had he...done other things to them? Did he revel in their suffering?

Frightening images had appeared in my dreams the last couple of days.

We were on the fifth floor of Kiyo's lab. All the heat rose here, bringing with it the combined scents of the artifacts. Dust motes danced in the bright square of light coming from the lone window. These upper floors were especially conducive to sketching or daydreaming. There was a fascinating and very large object across from me - an ancient green pot, taller than I was. It had a dragon head on each side and frog mouths on the base under them. Each dragon's mouth held a smooth ball. According to the tag, this was a 2000 year old Chinese seismoscope made by a man named Zhang Heng. It could detect earthquakes from miles away and even tell what direction they came from. And it was beautiful. What a great subject for a sketch.

But as gorgeous as the artifact was, I just couldn't concentrate on drawing it. I took my eyes off it and turned to the left wall. Kiyo's barely visible form was standing on the pottery shelf.

Kiyo was writing notes and examining markings on a pot much larger than himself. It was faintly comical watching him stroll around the base of the artifact. I walked over, bending down before the shelf, and Kiyo walked over with a pleasant expression.

"Are you enjoying your sketch?" he asked.

“Kiyo, this is off topic, but..." I turned away, unable to look at him. "When you, you know…killed those girls …”

The words were so hard to get out.

“You didn’t, like… _rape_ them, or torture them horribly…did you?”

“No!” Kiyo objected. “I never _raped_ anyone.” He seemed disgusted. “Or tortured anyone. I’m not a sadist.”

He seemed to be telling the truth.

“Well…you’re a serial killer.”

“I killed people - lots of people - but suffering was never the point.”

I stared at him.

“The goal wasn’t to inflict pain. It was only to get friends for Sister. I dispatched them quickly whenever possible.”

Well, at least he hadn’t been getting off on it. That was a relief.

Still, this whole situation was messed up. We were in a killing game, the earth was possibly destroyed, and I was in love with a damned serial killer. (“Ex-serial killer,” he’d reminded me. As if that helped.) And we were all probably going to die. Could things get any more messed up? It was so absurd, I laughed.

“You dispatched those women with great dispatch!” I joked.

“That isn’t funny,” Kiyo said bluntly. His face was ashen as he remembered his crimes. “What I did…was horrible.”

The guilt had presumably been getting to him. Sometimes I’d wake up at night and find him lying awake, staring at the ceiling. Once, it sounded like he was crying.

The more I thought about his murders, the more tough questions came up. Now that Kiyo had disclosed his secret, should I tell Shuichi or somebody else about the murders? Part of me wanted to help keep his secret, but another part urged to tell somebody. Shuichi was the closest thing to the police around here. Should I tell him? If I never told anyone about Kiyo's crimes, wasn’t that a crime too? Wouldn't his victims' families want to find out what happened?

I pictured telling the other members of our class what Kiyo did.

 _Guess what everyone, Kiyo here killed 87 people. But me and that magical artifact are preeetty sure he’s done._ The killing game was dangerous enough without throwing that bombshell into the mix. I decided to shelve the whole issue until after the killing game. If we survived. Though telling the police after the killing game would create its own set of problems...

“What are you thinking?” said Kiyo. 

“The fact that you murdered people is horrifying. I don’t even know the details. Honestly, I kind of want to, but…”

“You _want_ to know the details?” He seemed a little surprised. 

“I…do. Tell me about those murders. At least…some of them.”

With a sigh, the little figure on the counter began to recount his crimes.

They were grisly. He’d slit a couple of throats, he’d swung a barbell at a girl’s head and killed her from behind, and he'd stabbed people. Sometimes it took a while for stab victims to die.

The little hairs on my arms stood up. How did he meet the victims? What happened afterwards?

The crimes he recounted seemed to disturb even him.

Finally, after who knows how long, my eyes began to water. “Oh, Kiyo, how could you,” I said. “Those poor girls…!” Kiyo looked shaken too, as if he couldn't believe what he had done.

"They never deserved that," he said, head in his hands. "They were just living their lives, and I came along, and..." It was clear that reliving it made him very upset. "It feels like me, and the person who did that, are two different people," he said. "But...it was me. How can you stand to be around a killer?" 

I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. I picked Kiyo up and hugged him. He was slow to hug me back. As sick and ironic as it was, cuddling Kiyo made everything feel better.


	27. Continuing the Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Additional discussion of Kiyo's crimes and some speculation as to the nature of the Academy.

“I’ve been having…guilt lately,” came Kiyo’s small voice as I held him close. “What a strange feeling…I thought for the longest time that people were making it up."

"How does it feel?" I asked, mesmerized. 

"It truly is unpleasant. Like a heavy weight that threatens to crush your skull.”

“I see. You’re feeling remorse for those things you did?”

He spoke very quietly. “Yes. Like you said, those girls…”

He trailed off and didn’t say any more.

I pulled him gently away from my chest. “That’s a really good thing. That’s like…a piece of your humanity that was missing.”

“They never deserved what happened to them," he said.

I kissed him and held him against my cheek. "They didn't, did they?" I said, sadly. "I...don't know what to tell you." He kissed my cheek, but less passionately than usual.

I brought Kiyo back down in front of me. "I’ve been thinking about...turning myself in,” he said, an odd timber to his voice.

My eyebrows flew up. “To…to the police? You mean if we get out of here?”

“Yes. Do you think I should confess?”

Suddenly, all my inner conflict was gone.

“What?! Kiyo, I get that urge to tell someone, but…if you confess, and they convict you…that’s _life in prison,_ best case scenario! You’ll probably get _executed!_ Do you want to die?!” 

That was Maki's favorite expression. But it was true!

 _“Of course_ I don’t want to die. But this guilt feels horrible, and if it’s abstract morals we’re talking about, obviously the ‘right’ thing to do would be –“

“NO! _You can’t!_ Look, if you hadn’t changed from …that curse or whatever, if I thought for one minute that you were dangerous…I’d tell everyone right now! But…this is different! Actual, real magic happened, and…and you’ve changed! And…I don't want anything bad to happen to you!”

_I love you, Kiyo._

“I care about you, too. It’s just that-“

“We can’t tell them! They’d lock you up forever! Or _kill you!_ I can’t watch you rot in jail! _I can't let them inject you with poison! It's horrible!"_

Kiyo seemed shaken. His face had almost a bluish tinge to it. I realized I’d been shouting.

“Sorry, Kiyo. It's just...it would be terrible if something happened to you. I’d miss you.”

The anthropologist walked up to my pointer finger and embraced it. “I’d miss you too," he said. I brought my other hand over him and started caressing his back. "But please don't worry. I was only discussing the _possibility_ of turning myself in…there’s no immediate plans to do it.”

I felt a little embarrassed. “Still. Promise me you won’t do it.”

“If you care this much about it…I promise.” 

“Funny,” I said. “I was wondering some stuff late at night too. Things like, if I ever did tell someone about your crimes…you wouldn’t, like… _retaliate,_ would you?”

“You mean hurt you?”

I nodded. 

“No, of course not!” He seemed exasperated. “I’d never kill you. Haven’t we been over this?!”

We had. Probably too many times.

“It would be a motive."

“True,” he said. “But I would never hurt you. In fact, like we just discussed...if you did tip off the cops about me...I couldn't disagree with it."

“Not that I'd ever do that.” 

This conversation had become stifling. “Thank you for caring about me. This emotional stuff really is new…but I care about you. If it would hurt you that badly, I won’t turn myself in.”

We sat there for a few seconds, just thinking. 

“Perhaps…this _is_ prison,” he suggested. “Maybe we’re all criminals in our regular life, and Maki and I are the only ones who remember what we did. Maybe we’re all in prison, and this is our punishment.”

“Miu thought it was hell. There’s no more evidence for it being jail than there is that it’s hell.”

“Prison seems significantly more likely, seeing as it doesn’t require us to be dead.”

“That’s true,” I conceded. “If this is prison, it might explain why we’re separated from the outside world, underground or wherever.”

“Sealed off from society,” said Kiyo. “Perhaps we're all dangerous murderers who just can’t remember.”

“Hey! I’m not a murderer!” I said. “You just wish we all were so you’ll feel better.”

He chuckled. “You might be right. Ah, thought experiment,” he said, raising his pointer finger and smiling for the first time since we'd started our conversation. “If we each were sent here for a crime, what crime would yours be?” 

“Hmm. Probably something nonviolent. Like counterfeiting.”

“It would have to be severe enough to send you here,” he said.

An idea suddenly came to me. "Hold up. This can’t be jail, and here’s why! Himiko’s here, and she’s 16. Kokichi’s here, and he’s 17. It’d have to be juvie, right?”

Korekiyo immediately saw the problem. “And the two of us are 18.”

“Yes! We’re both 18 - so’s Maki - and prisons never have minors and adults in the same place. So unless our country’s jail system radically changed, this can’t be prison.”

“Bravo,” said Kiyo. “Your deduction does make sense.”

“Although, for all intents and purposes, we are imprisoned here. It just wouldn’t be, you know, _actual_ prison.”

“True. In that case, we must have been kidnapped. Like that one Flashback Light seemed to indicate.”

“Probably. And Monokuma’s like Jigsaw.”

“Jigsaw?” he asked, puzzled. 

I had to explain the Saw movies to him. Jigsaw was that creepy puppet on a tricycle who imprisoned people and made them do terrible things to survive. Things like forcing a guy to swallow a key, then having the other people there cut him open to get the key so they could escape a deathtrap.

“That sounds rather sadistic,” Korekiyo said. “But interesting. I never would have thought you liked those kinds of movies." He didn't sound judgmental, just surprised.

“I don’t actually, they’re too disturbing.”

“They’re fiction, so they probably wouldn’t disturb me."

“Somehow I’m not surprised. Anyway, that’s who Jigsaw is.”

“Ah, thank you,” Kiyo said. “I’m not very up to date on pop culture.”

_Up to date? Those aren't exactly recent movies..._

I feigned shock. “What, you’re not Korekiyo Shingujii, the Ultimate Pop Culture Historian?”

He chuckled. “Surprisingly, I don’t know all the hottest new fashion trends and coolest tv shows. My pop culture knowledge is not, as they say…lit.”

I groaned.


	28. A Twisted Grin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kokichi spies an opportunity.

It was nighttime. Kokichi was plotting the perfect way to reveal the truth, and his lie, to the whole class. It was a shame his clue rock had gone missing. Like the other students, Kokichi was completely puzzled as to where it had gone. But that didn't matter too much. 

_Just wait ‘til they see what I have to show them. When I’m through, not even Monokuma will be able to motivate the killing game to continue. The despair will be absolute!_

_I’ll beat the mastermind at their own game!_

The Supreme Leader walked through the dorm, an innocent smile on his face. He walked casually, hands in the pockets of his white jacket.

Suddenly, he noticed something. The door to -----‘s room was ajar. He touched the handle. The doorknob had been locked, but the door protruded ever so slightly from the door frame. It had never fully closed. _Wow. That’s really stupid of them._

He poked his head in. The girl was asleep, and – could it be? - so was shrimpy little Korky. That creep was lying on the nightstand on some silly things that weren’t a bed. 

The temptation was too great. He had to go in. 

Wait – wasn’t sneaking into here illegal? Monokuma had said that any student who broke through a locked door would incur severe punishment. If he snuck in there where he didn’t belong, an Exisal would undoubtedly bust through the wall and rip him in half with bullets. What a shame - the other students, the mastermind, and Monokuma would never get to see how awesome he was. _But wait._ A sinister glee overtook Kokichi’s features. 

_This door isn’t locked. Those idiots tried to lock it, but failed. So I wouldn’t be “breaking in.”_

Kokichi felt the little blade he carried in his pocket.

_Just paying them a little visit._


	29. Scarlet Everywhere

A sliver of light appeared at the far end of the room, grew momentarily, then shrank again. 

Kiyo snapped to alertness. Someone was coming into -----‘s dorm room. His first instinct was to call out, but then he stopped when he saw who it was. 

It was the Ultimate Supreme Leader.

Kiyo stayed totally silent as Kokichi crept across the room. His heart pounded in alarm. The huge figure slipped something out of his pocket. It glimmered in the faint light.

 _He’s got a knife._ Kiyo lay very still, mostly covered by the fabric, hoping the purple-haired intruder wouldn’t see he'd woken up. Kokichi was a hundred feet tall compared to Kiyo, and he had a weapon.

Kokichi came closer. His face contorted into an awful grin, but it wasn’t directed at the anthropologist. His deranged eyes were looking elsewhere.

 _Oh no,_ Kiyo realized with a pit in his stomach. _He’s headed towards her._

Kokichi giggled silently as he brought the knife forward. It was clear he intended to slit the girl’s throat.

Kiyo had a sudden flashback. He’d slit a couple of throats before, in what felt like a lifetime ago. In his memory Kiyo saw the blood spurting everywhere, heard the horrible sound…

A wave of revulsion bubbled up from below. Something behind his eyes felt like it was on fire.

_I can’t let him kill her!_

In a blinding rage, Kiyo leapt from the nightstand onto the right side of the bed. He ran so fast, it felt like his legs would break.

Kokichi stared at the girl’s pale neck, savoring this moment. He’d come in so soundlessly, she hadn’t woken up. He slowly brought the knife down, preparing to strike. Now!

He brought it down to cut her throat.

In a split second, several things happened. Kokichi registered a tiny motion on his right. He started turning towards it just as Kiyo began springing up.

The anthropologist grunted, jumping as hard as he could in pure desperation. Kiyo arced into the air and skidded across the girl’s throat. Her eyes opened suddenly.

At the precise moment Kokichi’s blade came down, it cut through Kiyo’s left leg with a sickening crunch. Kokichi jerked back the knife, eyes boggling in surprise. _“What-”_

The anthropologist’s broken body tumbled down onto the girl’s chest. She sat bolt upright.

 _“-the fuck?!”_ said Kokichi, utterly dumbfounded. He instinctively jerked his arm back almost to his shoulder.

There was half a second of complete confusion. Kiyo rolled from the girls chest onto her belly, his leg spurting blood. Kokichi loomed over her with the knife. The Ultimate Astronaut, who’d been tailing Kokichi for the last ten minutes, had come into the dorm building just as the short man had entered -----‘s room. He pushed the door open now and saw Kokichi holding the weapon.

"This isn’t your room! Wha-what the hell are you doing?!"

Kokichi turned to see Kaito yelling at him.

Kaito came galumphing across the room and fought with the Supreme Leader. They struggled for a few seconds, Kokichi landing a few slashes on Kaito’s arms until the Astronaut wrestled the knife away. “You little shit!” Kaito yelled, throwing Kokichi onto the ground. He stabbed at the Supreme Leader’s prone form over and over. Kokichi shrieked as the knife entered and re-entered his back. __"You're fucking done!" Kaito screamed. “You don’t get to kill any more of my friends!”__

__

Maki came into the room, cried out in shock, and ran over to Kaito. “No! Kaito, you idiot! You're gonna kill him!" 

The Ultimate Astronaut suddenly stopped. "Maki Roll, I-"

Students began streaming into the room.

“Oh my God!”

“What’s going on?!”

“K-Kokichi tried to stab me! Kiyo jumped in front of the blade, and-! _Oh God!”_

\--------- held Kiyo in her hands and pressed on his leg. It had been cut off at a slight angle, just above the knee. Blood shot out in hot spurts. 

“No no no!” cried the girl. “Your leg!” She pushed the fabric of her shirt to Kiyo’s bleeding stump. 

Maki and Shuichi ran over and helped her. They tore a small strip of the bedsheets and improvised a very small tourniquet.

Kiyo looked up at her weakly. “I couldn’t let him kill you. I love you,” he said. _Many cultures have the concept of Agape, or sacrificial love. I never understood what it feels like until now._

The girl’s breath caught in her throat. Her eyes brimmed with tears. “Oh my God, Kiyo. I love you too. You can't die…”

“It’s alright, ------. Death is not the end,” he said.

She brought her head down and kissed his lips.

“He… _sacrificed_ himself for her?” said Tsumugi after someone told her what happened. “That was unexpected.”

Suddenly, Kiyo felt a strange tingling over his body. It was like a cool wind. _Probably a symptom of the blood loss,_ he thought. _I'm going to be with Sister soon,_ he thought. _Keiko, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything._

If anyone had been in the Anthropology lab at that moment, they would have seen the Mask of Judgment shaking on its hooks. Soon, the whole wall started to vibrate.

Kiyo’s world forcefully contracted. His legs and back now dangled off the girl’s palm. 

“Kiyo! You’re getting bigger!”

The anthropologist was too weak to say anything.

No matter how the students pressed on his wound, blood kept leaking onto the mattress. The prognosis didn’t look good. 

_He can’t die,_ the girl begged. She kissed him over and over. _Jesus, Atua, whoever, please help him!_

“Monokuma!” Keebo cried. “If you’re there, this man needs medical attention!”

Monokuma popped into the room. “Puhuhuhuhu! Which one?”

Suddenly, none of us could take our eyes off Kokichi. His earlier look of shock had changed into malice. He stared up at them from the floor with a psychotic, abyssal grin. The expression he was making should have been physically impossible. Mouths and eyes just didn’t make shapes like that.

“You don’t know anything,” he said. “I was going to show you…tomorrow. I’m the mastermind... The world is…nee-hee-hee-“ As he giggled, more blood spurted from his lower back. His creepy expression melted into a wince of pain. Kokichi looked up at the others with fear in his eyes. Even the girl felt an involuntary jolt of pity.

She wasn’t sure exactly where the kidneys were, but she knew they were somewhere in the lower back. If he’d gotten stabbed there, Kokichi didn’t have long.

“Che…check…the…exit…” the Supreme Leader whimpered, before he shuddered and died. 

DING DONG BING BONG, played the announcement.

The screen flicked on. “A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED!”

“Guess that answers my question,” the Monokuma in the room said.

Meanwhile, Korekiyo had returned to his full six foot two. Several students helped make a new tourniquet for his leg.

“Korekiyo…stay strong,” said Maki. 

Several other students made encouraging comments. “It’s okay, Kiyo, you’re gonna be fine.”

“Save him, Monokuma!” the girl pleaded. “Please save him!"

“Y-you must have some kind of medical lab in this school,” Shuichi said. "Please take Kiyo there!"

“Awww,” Monokuma groaned. “Sure, we’ll patch up Korekiyo for you. But I can’t guarantee we can-”

“Just take him!” ----- shouted.

Several Exisals burst through the door with a stretcher. They put Kiyo into it and marched off with him in their robot arms.

“Puhuhuhu!” said Monokuma. “I guess a little hope couldn’t hurt! After all, this big ol’ loaf of despair bread I’m baking can’t rise without it!” He kept going. “When Korekiyo learns what’s really going on at this school, he’ll wish he’d been left to die! So will she!” he laughed maniacally, pointing at the girl. “So will ALL of you! Ahhh-HAHAHAHAA!”

The way he joked about it sent chills through everyone. Maki held Kaito close, despite being angry with him. Shuichi put his arms up and started to back away. Keebo looked horrified.

Kaito suddenly let go of Maki and started coughing again. Before he could cover his cough, flecks of blood flew down onto the tiles. _More blood to add to all the rest,_ thought Himiko. There was scarlet everywhere, from the bed to the walls to the floor. A great pool of it continued to spread under Kokichi. Himiko shuddered. “So…w-what happens now?” she asked no one in particular.

“It may be more of a formality at this point,” Monokuma said, shoving the murder report into Shuichi's hands, “but THE CLASS TRIAL!"


	30. You Idiot!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maki is very upset with Kaito.

After the Exisals and Monokuma left, Maki turned to Kaito. Blood was spattered all over his pink coat and white shirt. A glare spread over Maki’s face. 

“What did you do?!” she cried. Jumping forward, she grabbed his collar and slapped him across the face. Kaito stopped cold.

“You killed him, you idiot! You _fucking idiot! Do you wanna die?!”_ Her face started to screw up into tears, but she fought them. 

Kaito stepped back, frightened by Maki’s violence as well as the evidence of his own. He put his hands up in an appeasement gesture. “M-Maki Roll, I…”

“You idiot!” she shouted. Her hands were pressed into fists. She stepped back, breathing heavily, and stopped hitting him.

Everyone was stunned. Maki had shown anger before, but she'd never had an outburst like this.

“I’m sorry...I’m so sorry," Kaito cried, "but for God’s sake, Maki! He tried to _kill somebody!_ What was I supposed to do?!”

“I don’t give a damn about Kokichi! I hated that little creep, we all hated him! But _look what you did!”_ She pointed at the Supreme Leader’s body crumpled on the floor. "You’re gonna get executed! By Monokuma!”

“Maki, I-“

“I don't get it! You had him disarmed! _He was on the ground,_ you could have tied him up or something! Why’d you keep stabbing him?!”

“Don't fight!” Himiko pleaded.

“Maki, please-“ Shuichi tried to calm the pair, but Kaito waved a hand to tell him to stay out.

Maki collapsed into tears. “You idiot! I…I love you! How could you-“

Kaito appeared close to crying too. He moved in and embraced her. “I love you too, Maki. You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I lost control, I'm an idiot...”

They wept together for awhile.

Keebo, Tsumugi, Shuichi, Himiko, and I couldn't take our eyes off of the conflict. It felt uncomfortable, like we were seeing something we shouldn't.

“Kaito…you’re going to die. You’ll never go to space, and I’m going to be all alone…how could you do that to me? How could you throw this all away?” 

Kaito bent down and wiped the tears from her cheek. He looked at her with a bittersweet expression.

“Maki, there’s something I've gotta tell you.”


	31. Ride to Oblivion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito's trial and execution.

Like Monokuma had said, the class trial that afternoon was little more than a formality. As we went to ride the elevator down to the trial grounds, Maki was still fuming at Kaito in between tears. Looking at her, I said, “I’m so sorry about all this.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”

“K-Kaito…can I give you a hug?” I looked over at Maki and she seemed okay with it.

“Sure,” he said. I threw my arms around him.

“Thank you so much, Kaito…i-if it wasn’t for you…and Kiyo…I’d be dead. You two saved my life.” 

Kiyo had sacrificed himself protecting me from the first blow, but if Kaito hadn’t tackled Kokichi afterwards, something awful could have still happened. 

“C’mon, it was nothin’. Kokichi was trying to kill someone. I wasn’t just gonna stand there and let him do it.”

“I wish you could stay with us. I wish fucking Monokuma wasn’t going to…well, you know.”

Kaito gave me a bittersweet look. He looked over at Maki meaningfully. 

She came over and hugged the two of us. Soon, everyone else in our little group was embracing each other. It would seem corny under other circumstances, but to us, it was important. 

“We’re all gonna miss you, Kaito,” said Shuichi. 

“You’re a hero,” said Himiko.

“C’mon guys…quit with the hero stuff. Any of you woulda done the same.”

I waited for a sarcastic comment from Kokichi, but remembered he was no longer with us.

After riding the elevator down to the courtroom, we all stood in a circle. All except for Korekiyo, who Monokuma was presumably patching up in some secret location. Shuichi, Maki, Himiko, Keebo, Tsumugi, and I all spoke at the same time. “Kaito did it.” The vote was unanimous.

“Heh,” Kaito said, putting on a cheerful face. “Can’t really argue with that one, can I?”

The speech the Ultimate Astronaut gave didn’t totally make sense, but it inspired us nonetheless. Something about the way he talked gave everyone new energy, made them look on the bright side. _He would have made a good soccer coach,_ I thought. 

As if the upcoming execution wasn’t enough of a gut punch, Kaito then told all of us about his illness. “The truth is…I’ve been sick for a long time.” He told us about his mystery illness, and Shuichi was able to figure out what it was. Apparently there was no cure. We all cried. Maki looked particularly heartbroken. Kaito didn’t deserve to die. He could be an idiot sometimes, but he was one of the best of us.

“I don’t have much longer anyway. But if I could go out saving one of you, and letting you all progress to the next stage, well, that’s worth it. Everyone has to survive. Survive and end this messed up killing game! I know you can do it. Don’t cry, Maki Roll. I’ll see you again someday.”

Kaito got in the rocket for his execution, and Monokuma blasted it into the air. Monokuma giggled with glee, waiting for the moment when the rocket’s momentum would not be enough and it would crash back to earth. But in a final act of triumph, Kaito's illness claimed him before the execution could. Cameras broadcasted his dying smile as he slumped in his chair, seconds before impact. 

“Aaarrrgh!” grumbled Monokuma. He banged his fist on the podium. “That execution was lame! Lame!" Then the usual crazy smile lit up his face. "Almost as lame as your pal Korekiyo right now, ehehehehehe!”

We all stared blankly at the bear. 

“Guess it's time for me to go,” he said, and disappeared.


	32. A Pleasant Diversion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast discussion, and Tsumugi proposes a way to take everyone's minds off Kaito's execution.

It was horrible knowing Kaito was gone. We’d been unable to really talk to each other for the rest of that day. 

Kaito had been such a wonderful person, like a big brother to all of us. More than that to Maki. Now that he was gone, our class had really diminished in size. The only ones left were Shuichi, Maki, Himiko, Keebo, and Tsumugi, me, and Korekiyo…wherever he was. 

The next day at breakfast, when the sharpest edge of our grief had dulled and we were able to at least speak to one another without crying, we talked about Kaito. The courage he’d showed. His endearing goofiness. The inspiration he’d been to us all.

Then our conversation turned to Kokichi. In his dying words, he’d proclaimed himself the mastermind, laughing that we didn’t really know anything about the outside world, and implored us to “check the exit.” By “exit,” he seemed to have been referring to the Death Road of Despair. 

What was at the end of it? And could we trust anything Kokichi said?

“Kokichi wasn’t really the mastermind, was he?” asked Keebo.

“If he was, why would he try to kill me?” I said. “The mastermind’s not supposed to do that!”

“He coulda been lying,” said Himiko. “He lies all the time! Well…he did.”

“Yeah, but ‘this world is mine’…” Shuichi mused.

“It’s really unsettling,” said Tsumugi. “Who but the mastermind would write that?”

“Technically, anyone could have written it,” said Keebo. "The 'o_ic' could have been part of his name, but that would have meant he wrote it, not that he was actually the mastermind."

I wondered what Korekiyo would say if he was here. Kiyo… I’d been up worrying about him all night. I had to take my mind off of him.

“Kokichi liked freaking us out,” I said. “Himiko’s right, he could have been lying.”

“That may be,” said Maki. “Or perhaps he was the mastermind after all and just decided to disregard the rules. Kokichi was unpredictable.”

“It…it’s so horrible,” said Tsumugi, her voice almost breaking. “The mastermind’s tortured us enough, why would he try to murder us too?”

“We still don’t know if the mastermind was really him,” cautioned Shuichi. 

“Who else could it be?” wondered Himiko.

Shuichi said, “It’s a mystery. The only person we know it can’t be is Kiyo.”

“It’s ironic,” said Tsumugi. “When we first got to the school, I was sure Korekiyo would be a culprit. He looked the type.” 

“He sure seemed the type,” said Maki. _And she would know._

“But saving one of us…” Tsumugi said incredulously.

Keebo the Hope Robot agreed. “I can hardly believe it either. Kaito said Kiyo threw himself in front of the blade.”

“He’s so brave,” said Himiko. “He and Kaito both.”

“If it weren’t for them,” I said, “I’d be dead right now.”

I remembered waking up to the terrifying scene. 

That horrible scream, Kiyo’s leg severed from his body, Kokichi looming over us with a bloody knife. More violence as Kaito rushed in, wresting the knife from Kokichi and stabbing him over and over. Holding Kiyo’s terribly pale body as we desperately created a tourniquet to his bleeding leg. 

Kokichi bleeding in a crumpled pile.

So much blood…

_Poor Kiyo…Are you okay in the Monokuma hospital? Please don’t die._ That cold feeling crept into my stomach again.

“Uh, -----?” said Shuichi. I turned to him, startled. 

“What?” I said sharply. 

Shuichi looked surprised. 

“S-Sorry. What did you say?” I couldn’t go snapping at my classmates like that.

“I just asked how you were doing.”

“Oh. Um…not good. But hey, at least I’m not dead. Not yet, anyway.”

“It’s going to be okay,” Shuichi said. “We’ll figure this out. All of us together. I know we can end this killing game.”

I chuckled. “You sound like Kaede. She had that optimism.”

“She had hope,” said Keebo. 

Shuichi looked sad at our mentioning her. I felt bad for him. And I felt bad thinking of Kaede, too. She’d been awesome. It was too bad she'd left us so soon.

“She did,” the detective said. “I’m trying to be more like her in that way.”

I looked around at Shuichi, Maki, and Keebo. All three of them had lost someone very special to them. The person I cared about had lost a limb and been carted to the hospital, but their love interests had died. So had many of our other friends. That put things in perspective.

“Hey,” said Tsumugi. “Do you want to have a pool party or something? All of us together?”

We looked at her like she was nuts. 

“A…a pool party?” said Keebo. 

“Yes, something like that would make us all feel better,” she said. 

“Are you joking?” said Maki. “After what just happened?”

Himiko seemed to perk up at Tsumugi’s suggestion. “It...it might be fun.”

“I agree with Himiko,” I said. “This might help take our minds off of what’s going on.”

Keebo said thoughtfully, “I can’t remember the last time I went in a pool.”

Himiko looked surprised. “Keebo, not to be robophobic, but…can you go in the water?”

“I’m fully waterproof!” the Ultimate Hope Robot replied with a bit of pride. 

“I don’t know about a pool party…” said Shuichi. 

“Do you need some time to be alone?" I asked.

"It's not that, it's..."

We all stared at him. Shuichi was blushing.

“I…” he started chuckling. “I don’t like how I look in a swimsuit.”

Himiko started to giggle. Surprisingly, so did Maki. It was strange-I’d only seen her laugh a couple of times, and both times involved Kaito. Shuichi seemed to realize how absurd his complaint was, given the circumstances. 

“No worries Shuichi,” said Himiko, “I’m sure you look fine in a swimsuit!”

“I would _not_ have expected you to worry about that,” I chuckled. _He sounds just like a couple of my friends in the real world. People worry too much about how they look at the pool._

Shuichi blushed furiously and said, “Compared to everything else, I…guess it's not that big of a problem.”

“You’re not obligated to come in the pool if you don’t want to,” said Keebo. “But it would be good if you joined us.”

A half hour later, five of us were splashing in the pool together. Me, Himiko, Maki, Keebo, and Tsumugi. We soon started playing basketball with a bouncy ball and the pool hoop. After a few minutes of watching from the deck chairs, Shuichi did a cannonball into the pool and joined Tsumugi and Keebo’s team. 

"Yeah!" said Himiko.

"He's on our team," said Tsumugi. She and Keebo gave him a high five.

"Now we have a worthy opponent," I said to Maki and Himiko with a smile.

The game was fun, but I kept wishing Kiyo could be there too. And not just because he would have been the tallest one on my team. _Hope he’s still alive. Hope they were able to reattach his leg._ Though I wasn’t religious, I said a little prayer that he would be okay.


	33. Korekiyo's Return

Weeks later

The frantic knocking on my door continued. Someone kept calling my name, too. Slightly annoyed, I hopped out of my desk chair and started walking towards the door. “What?”

“-----, -----!” the voice cried. “You’ve got to see this!”

“Huh?” I said. It was Himiko. _Why is she so excited?_

I opened the door. Himiko’s smiling face greeted me, but with a shock, I also saw another face. 

Korekiyo’s. 

My heart leaped in my chest.

Kiyo stepped toward me on his good leg. The reattached leg, wrapped up in an unusually bulky cast, squeaked faintly behind him on a wheeled scooter. He smiled from slightly above me, sweeping his long black hair behind him. He seemed to glow with happiness.

I could hardly speak. “Oh…oh my God. Kiyo!” Every one of my nerves felt electrified as his long, slender arms embraced me. My arms went around his back and hugged him.

_I’ve waited so long for this. I want to hold him like this forever. Can time just pause here?_

“It feels so good to hold you,” he said. 

“That’s just what I was thinking,” I said. I ran my hand through the long, black hair cascading down his back. “I can’t believe you’re back. It’s been weeks. Does…does your leg hurt?” I asked.  
“Not at the moment,” he said. “And even if it did, that’s the last thing I’d be thinking about.”

Himiko said, “I’ll leave your crutches next to your door, Kiyo.” I’d honestly forgotten she was still there. She must have helped to carry Kiyo’s scooter up the stairs, since there was no ramp for people who couldn’t walk. Then she’d helpfully taken his crutches while he approached my door.

 _No ramp,_ I realized. _This building is definitely out of compliance. Not that Monokuma would care about something like that._

Kiyo turned. “Thanks for your kindness, Himiko.”

“Of course!”

As the magician walked away, the anthropologist turned to me. He looked down serenely from his full height, a few inches above me. “I love you,” he said. He pushed his head slightly down, removed his mask, and kissed me. 

His bandaged hand caressed my cheek.

“I love you too,” I whispered.

Kissing him was like stepping from a dark room into the bright summer sun. 

Or some similarly strained metaphor. My internal monologue was failing me right now.

_I love you so much. Everything’s gonna be okay...we're gonna escape this killing game and someday, I'll go on a research trip with you._

We kissed furiously. 

“Mmm…so aggressive,” said Kiyo when we finally pulled away. “I like it."

His look of lust turned into a more tender expression. 

"I've missed you so much. It feels marvelous being back with you again."

“Hey, I was just getting used to not having to share my room,” I joked. 

Kiyo gave me a funny look. 

“Just kidding,” I laughed. “Of course I’ve missed you.”

The anthropologist asked how I was doing and what was going on in the killing game. I asked him some more questions about his time in the hospital.

“I thought I might wake up with a fancy artificial leg,” said Kiyo, “But they just reattached my old one.”

“Isn’t that better?”

“According to Doctorkuma, my leg might not regain all its function,” he said. “But I should be able to walk on it again, to some degree. We won’t know until it heals completely.”

“Well that’s good news,” I said. “How long will that be? Wait, did you say ‘Doctorkuma?’” I chuckled. 

“Two to three months,” he said. “And yes, there’s a doctor bear. And several Nursekumas.” 

“That's awesome," I said. "So, you’re on a lot of painkillers?” 

Kiyo laughed. “Yes. Apologies if I say anything weird.”

“Weirder than usual?” I said, raising my eyebrows.

“Kehehe…are you really making fun of me? I almost died.”

“Kokichi couldn’t kill you. Neither will my bad jokes.”

His face got serious. “If that blade had hit a little higher, I could have been disemboweled.”

“The seppuku of your dreams,” I joked. 

“Ouch!”

“The only thing missing is that golden katana.”

“To be seppuku, I’d have to be the one doing it.”

“I know, Kiyo. Just kidding. Don't commit seppuku anytime soon."

Maki and Shuichi walked up. “Kiyo,” said Maki. “You’re alive. Glad to have you back with us.”

Tsumugi also approached. “Oh my goodness, Kiyo. You poor thing! Does your leg hurt?”

“Fortunately, not too much with all these painkillers they’ve given me.”

“You’ve been gone such a long time,” said Shuichi. “Thank you for what you did to save her.”

“I just jumped in front of her blindly,” said Kiyo. “Kaito’s the one who actually tackled Kokichi and took his weapon. He’s the real hero.”

The atmosphere felt heavy all of a sudden.

Korekiyo looked at Maki, who was staring off into the distance. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Th…thank you,” she said. “He really was a hero. When he wasn’t being ridiculous.”

Everyone chuckled. 

“Well, we’ll leave you two,” said Shuichi. “It looks like you have a lot to catch up on.”

“Thanks, Shuichi,” I said. 

Korekiyo and I went inside Kiyo’s room and closed the door, and I immediately let out a deep breath of relaxation. Neither of us had been back here since Kiyo’s sacrifice. The room was dim and peaceful. Tchotchkes from anthropological expeditions sat on the bookshelves. Afternoon light filtered through the closed window blinds. Korekiyo and I looked at one another.


	34. Saturated Colors

The killing game was still going on, but Kiyo and I felt like we were in a dreamland. Now that we were reunited, colors seemed brighter, our friends seemed funnier, and everything felt like it might turn out alright. It was a relief having Kiyo back to normal. Well, mostly back to normal. His leg was still recovering, and he had to spend a lot of time in bed.

But there were still fun things we could do.

As Korekiyo and I lay together that afternoon, I ran my hands through his long, black hair. It felt so good as it slipped through my fingers. 

“It’s so good you’re back to normal size,” I said. “I always wanted to run my fingers through your hair.”

“And I yours.” He moved his hands through my hair, caressing my scalp.

My hair was by no means short, but it wasn't nearly as long and gorgeous as his. 

“How do you get it so shiny?” I said, still marveling at his hair. “You could star in a hair conditioner commercial.”

“Kehehe,” he said. “I’m glad you like it.”

With a mischievous smile, Kiyo struck a pose and tossed his hair dramatically like a lady in one of those commercials.

I nearly fell over laughing. "Perfect!" I said, and gave him a hug. 

“As you know, my sister influenced me a lot. I picked up some tips from her.”

“She seems-well, she seemed like she was pretty awesome.”

Korekiyo said thoughtfully, “You’re the only one I’ve ever really told about her and me. Most people would find what we did…appalling.”

“I mean, it’s _definitely_ weird,” I said. “As someone who has siblings, I don't get it at all. But as long as you didn’t actually…you know, _procreate,_ and no one was being forced, I figure that’s your own personal business.”

We mused on that for a bit.

“It’s funny, people used to ask if we were twins,” Kiyo said. “We were a year and a half apart, but we looked so similar.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. 

“Who is it?”

Shuichi’s muffled voice came from behind the door. “Hey, it’s Shuichi. And Maki, Himiko, and Keebo…Can you open the door?”

“Is it an emergency?” Kiyo asked. It wasn’t.

“----- and I will be out in a couple minutes."

I put on my striped yellow shirt and grey skirt. Kiyo put his usual olive-green blazer on, but he had been wearing shorts lately due to the huge cast on his leg. It was an interesting look. He lifted his left leg onto the blue scooter, and we met our classmates outside.

Shuichi said, “I didn’t wanna bother you two, but the rest of us were just talking about the Death Road of Despair. We want to go back there today. With Miu’s electro-hammers, we might have a chance to get through it.”

“You think it’s possible to reach the end?” asked Kiyo.

“It’s worth trying,” said Maki. 

“At least, it should be easier than the last time,” said Shuichi.

My first instinct was to just tell them "good luck" and laze about with Korekiyo, but the class's numbers had dwindled since the last time we'd attempted the Death Road of Despair. And like everyone else, I was curious. If we wanted to figure out what was at the end of that tunnel, we would all have to help.

“I’ll join you,” I said, and glanced at Kiyo’s leg. “Kiyo’s still recovering.”

"We figured he wouldn't be coming," Keebo replied.

“Yeah, there’s those parts where you have to jump,” said Himiko.

The anthropologist said, “I regret not being able to help you. Good luck though! I hope you succeed.”

I asked my classmates, “Are you heading to the tunnel right now?”

“We might as well,” said Shuichi. “Does that work for you, or are you busy right now?”

“I guess I can pencil it in,” I smiled. Kiyo kissed me goodbye, then scootered back into his room, and the rest of us set off to reattempt the Death Road of Despair.


	35. Fiction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the final trial, Tsumugi tells the students that she wrote all their personalities and memories.

Kiyo was reading one of his anthropology books when he heard a click at the front of the room. The girl stepped through his door. Her bright eyes looked back at him, exhausted, and her hair was disheveled. 

“How did it go?” he asked her. “Did you succeed?”

She told him they hadn't. 

After a few more days of trying to get past the Death Road of Despair, the Academy students finally gave up. Maybe the Death Road was impossible. Maybe there just weren’t enough people left in the group to succeed at reaching the end. But with so much time passing, and so many other developments going on in the Killing Game, eventually they all stopped trying. 

Several days later, Shuichi, Maki, Himiko, Keebo, Korekiyo, and ----- were all gathered underground for yet another Class Trial. Through clever deduction skills, Shuichi had discovered that the first murderer of the game had deceived them all. Kaede was not the one who had murdered Rantaro. The true killer was Tsumugi, and that meant that the Ultimate Pianist had been executed on false pretenses. The students were in an uproar. Monokuma had to quiet them down.

First, Tsumugi praised Shuichi’s detective work. "I don't need your praise!" he cried. "I don't need the praise of a _murderer!"_

Then Tsumugi dropped a bomb on them all – not only was she the mastermind, she worked for a company called Team Danganronpa. The entire class was currently starring in a live reality show, and their personalities and memories had been fabricated to mold them into the perfect cast of characters.

“Wait…” said Korekiyo. A cold sweat began to bead his forehead. Like the other students in the trial grounds, he began to panic. “Our personalities… aren’t real?”

It had to be a lie. Kiyo was the Ultimate Anthropologist. He vividly recalled the classes he’d taken, his fieldwork, and the person who got him interested in anthropology in the first place... Were all those memories fabricated?

He turned to the girl. She looked back at him, just as stunned as he was.

Despair began encroaching on the whole class.

Shuichi mustered the energy to shout. “Y-You’re lying!” he said to Tsumugi. “Just like Kokichi did after Kaito stabbed him!”

“Oh, silly boy, this is no lie. Remember that time you and your best friend in second grade were playing with the neighbor’s puppy and opened the gate to go in their yard, then the puppy rushed past you, ran down the street, and promptly got hit by a truck?”

Shuichi went white as a sheet. “I…I n…n…”

“You never told anyone here about that, right? How could I know? Because I made it up. I wrote that memory.”

“No, y-you must have talked to my mom or something…”

“You stole that magic book from the store when you were 10 and never got caught,” Tsumugi said to Himiko.

“B-But no one knows about…!”

_I'd been so guilty about stealing it that I never told my friends about it, and I almost returned it to the store!_

As everyone reacted to Tsumugi's words, the unreality of their lives hit Kiyo like a freight train. His limbs turned to jelly. He lurched to the side, throwing a crutch out to catch himself before he could fall over. 

_It’s not real…It’s not real…_

“Kiyo?” asked the girl.

“It’s not real…it can’t be…it’s not real…”

Did his sister even exist?

His bandaged hand trembled as it rested on the podium.

“Keiko…if you’re there…tell them…c-come here and tell them…”

“Are you okay?”

Kiyo startled. _I may have dissociated a little._ \----- was right next to his podium, looking up at him with concern in her eyes.

Kiyo saw the same panic mirrored in her eyes. _I…I’ve only been thinking of myself,_ he realized. _She’s upset too. She needs me._ He wasn’t quite sure how to comfort someone, but putting his arm around her seemed a good start. “I’m…really confused,” he admitted, and began caressing her back. “H-How about you?” 

“She c-can’t have made me up. I have no ultimate talent…why even make a character like me? It…it makes no sense.”

Kiyo’s head was reeling. The despair threatened to flood him, but he had to be strong. Not just for himself, but for her. “This can’t be…but even if we are all fictional characters…my affection...” She looked at him and managed a smile. “…my love for you is real.”

“Mine, too,” she said, and held him close. She gave a dry chuckle. “You’re trying your hardest with this whole ‘feelings’ thing, aren’t you?” A tear started worming its way out of the corner of her left eye.

Korekiyo gave a desperate, bittersweet smile. “I’m trying my best.”

The Hope Robot said, “Being an android, the fact that my personality had a creator was already obvious. But somehow…Tsumugi’s words still disturb me.”

“Why did our personalities have to be created by her?” said Maki, gesturing towards the teal-haired cosplayer. Seeing even Maki panicking was frightening.

“Ts-Tsumugi,” Shuichi managed through his horror, “y-you’re saying you created everyone’s ultimate talents?”

Tsumugi had been enjoying their reactions to her revelation. “I did. And your sweet outfits!” The pure joy on her face was disturbing. She looked like any cheerful cosplayer at an anime convention.

\----- suddenly felt the need to argue with her. “But I don’t have a special ultimate talent. Supposing you really did write everyone’s personalities, why make me without one?”

Tsumugi made a pshaw noise. “Every Danganronpa installment has a ‘normal’ character without a specific talent. Or a character who thinks that’s what they are. Makoto turned out to be the Ultimate Hope…Hajime was the Ultimate Talent…Mayoi was the Ultimate Lawyer…”

“But I’m none of those things! If what you say is true, then…

_Wait-is this the part where I discover my true Ultimate Talent, and it’s more important than everybody else’s?_

“Hahahahahaha! You have no ultimate talent. Those chosen one narratives get so boring, I couldn’t stand another one.”

Kiyo turned behind his podium, suddenly nauseous. He’d been thinking of Sister and the thought of losing her…of never having known her in the first place…made him feel like throwing up. Or maybe the culprit for this nausea was his post-surgery painkillers. Kiyo breathed heavily, trying to resist the twisting in his stomach.

\----- held his back. Neither of them knew what to say.

“She couldn’t have made everyone’s personalities,” Shuichi mumbled across the room. “It’s a lie.”

“I’m…a real magician…aren’t I?” Himiko thought in a cold sweat.

“Whatever or not she lies, I’m still the Ultimate Robot,” said Keebo.

Tsumugi and the others kept talking, but Kiyo just stood there, dazed. The girl moved close to him but he didn’t seem fully present. “You know,” she said, trying to look on the bright side, “if our personalities were made up, that’s actually good news. It means you never killed anybody!”

Kiyo didn’t know how to feel about that. He supposed it should be a good thing, but...

“And you still have that knowledge, even if you never did your own research…We should go do fieldwork after this. If we survive, of course…”

She tried her best to stay upbeat, but despair was encroaching on everyone’s minds.

“This personality is yours, just as much as the old one…”

When Kiyo did speak, it was in a whisper. “What does it matter? If we’re all…fiction anyway...” 

“It’s…it’s gonna be okay. You got me, I got you. We all still have each other. W-Whatever Tsumugi did, it doesn’t change that.”

“You’re right,” he said, and embraced her. There was a moment of peace as they felt each other’s warmth…

 _“Eh-hem!”_ exclaimed Monokuma. 

They were abruptly taken out of their reverie. They weren’t the only ones consoling each other – many of the students were talking amongst themselves. Monokuma was definitely looking at Kiyo and the girl, though.

The bear said, “You two may not have noticed, but WE’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A TRIAL!”

“Apologies,” said Kiyo, still uneasy.

“Sorry!” said the girl. 

She looked at Korekiyo. “It’s gonna be alright, I swear,” she said. He managed a bittersweet smile as she stepped back to her podium.

Tsumugi, watching this cute little moment, narrowed her eyes. “Korekiyo, if you keep refusing to listen, I could smash that artifact you love so much and have my staff rewrite you to a sociopath.”

Kiyo went pale. His eyes bulged wide with fear. _“Y-you wouldn’t…!”_

“Try me,” Tsumugi said with casual malice. “ANYWAY,” she continued, “what a shame Kokichi had to be a moron and get himself killed…and just before he was about to share with you all the TRUTH of the OUTSIDE WORLD!”


	36. The Truth of the Outside World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsumugi reveals the "truth of the outside world" to her classmates.

Tsumugi was gleefully reciting all the stupid things people did on the day Kokichi died.

“That girl was acting like an idiot leaving the door open…and Kiyo did the dumbest thing possible-it was pure luck he didn’t die…Kaito was an idiot for killing Kokichi…Like Maki said, he should have just tied Kokichi up, he easily overpowered him. But _dumbfucks_ like Kaito, they always have to do things _the hard way…”_

“SHUT UP!” hissed Maki. “You heartless bitch! Do you want to die?!”

“Not particularly,” admitted Tsumugi. “But I _am_ in this killing game. Despite the producer’s strong opinions against it, I accepted the risk. Hahaha, I even signed the waiver!”

“This monologue is taking forever,” I whispered, elbowing Kiyo. But he wasn’t receptive.

“What do you mean, the truth of the outside world?” said Shuichi. 

“Oh," she said breezily, "you know. There was this whole thing set up at the end of the Death Road of Despair. It would have shown you the wasteland the Earth is today.”

Everyone stopped for a minute, unable to believe what they were hearing. This was the second gut punch they’d suffered in the last twenty minutes.

“Kokichi wanted to show it to you. He wanted to take credit. Buuuut that was a lie, too. Perfectly in character for him.”

“Wait…a lie that he was the mastermind, or that the world was destroyed?” said Keebo.

Tsumugi made a coy face. She wouldn’t answer directly. “The world…you’d really like to know what it looks like now, wouldn’t you? Since you’re dying to know...”

Monokuma showed us the image on the tv screen. The ruined buildings…the desolate sky…nothing but death everywhere. 

Himiko gasped. 

Had we traveled through time? Was this global warming?

“Well?” Tsumugi said. “Are you gonna punish me? You all just proved I was the one who really killed Kaede. And I helped make all of this happen. Even now, this show is breaking records. It’s broadcasting to another world, far away, where everyone lives in peace and harmony. AND THEY LOVE IT!”

No one spoke. We were still processing the insanity of what she’d just said. 

"Is...is this true?" said Shuichi.

“We should just kill ourselves,” Himiko finally said. “What’s the point, anyway?”

“If we all vote for the wrong person as the killer,” said Maki, “then we’ll all be executed. Together.”

Kiyo looked at me. He was shaking. “Maybe we should…”

 _“No,”_ I said quietly. Someone else had spoken at the same time. I looked over at the Hope Robot.

Keebo said vigorously, “I will NOT let you do this. We must maintain hope! Come on, everyone! If we don’t have hope, then…then Danganronpa wins.”

I added, “We can't die! If we die, humanity will go extinct!” I thought to myself, _If we somehow managed to survive and rebuild, this would be one hell of a population bottleneck. It might not even be possible for the species to survive. But we can't just give up!_

Kiyo looked at me weakly. “What’s the use,” he said. “The rest of humanity's already gone.” He looked at our friends with a joyless chuckle. “But…why let Danganronpa have the last word? If you wish to die, I could retrieve my golden katana from the lab…”

“NO!” Keebo shouted. "I won't let you!"

“We can’t just kill ourselves!” I said. “Especially in the nerdiest goddamn way possible! We need to live!”

“What good is an anthropologist,” the lanky figure mused, “if there are no more humans to study? What good is a Hope Robot if no hope remains? What good is a magician…” he said, looking at Himiko, “if no audience can see their performances?”

“KIYO!” I said. “Don’t say that!”

“I could make it painless,” he said. “You-and they-would never know what hit them. Then I’d end myself.”

The calm way he said it made the hairs on my arms stand up. 

“As an assassin, _I_ actually have experience,” interjected Maki. “If our classmates want to leave this world, I should be the one to deliver them.”

Kiyo’s eyes gleamed. “You may not know this, Maki, but I _also_ have experience. I could-“

I grabbed his upper arms and shook them. “STOP! What the hell are you saying?!”

Kiyo nearly fell off balance. I worried for a second that he might fall off his surgical scooter. He flashed with anger for a second, then his expression softened. 

I continued, “Don’t tell them they should _die!”_ Tears started falling. “That’s fucked up! I don’t want to be killed! And if...if you all die...I’ll be alone…” Tears started to come down my cheeks, and I wasn’t the only one. Around the room, about half of the students were openly weeping. Those that weren't were staring off into space.

"I...I don't really want to die either," said Himiko. "I'm afraid!" 

"NO ONE is going to die!" said Keebo.

“I’m...sorry, -----" Kiyo said, looking down at me sadly. "If...you really don’t want to go through with this, I won’t make you be alone.” The anthropologist said, “I won’t kill myself. We could live in this school forever. As…pointless as our lives would be.”

“Kiyo,” I said with disbelief, “Our lives would _never_ be pointless." Suddenly, I was angry with him. "Of course you want to kill everybody. That's what you do best, isn't it? Believe it or not, there's this _thing_ most people have. It's called _respect for human life!"_

Korekiyo looked hurt. “You said it yourself, though," he said flatly. "Human life has no inherent purpose. Scientifically, we’re just animals.”

“Yeah, maybe, but our lives, here and now, have value! Our lives count!” 

Keebo was still talking to Tsumugi. “We can’t kill ourselves. That is wrong.”

“Well, what will you decide?” laughed Tsumugi. “Execute me and keep hope alive, or kill yourselves in despair?”

“Puhuhuhuhu!” laughed Monokuma, who’d been chewing popcorn the entire trial.

Shuichi had been brooding at his podium, and now it looked like he was about to say something.


	37. Hope, Despair, and Blue Skies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keebo and Shuichi battle over hope and despair, Tsumugi dies, and the students finally view the outside world.

Shuichi said, “I REJECT hope! But I ALSO reject despair!”

The detective turned to us, pointing his finger to the heavens. “Don’t you see? If we execute Tsumugi, that’s playing right into Team Danganronpa’s hands! That’s not hope, that’s just allowing this sick game to continue!”

 _He’s gotten a lot more assertive since the start of the game,_ I thought.

“I WILL NOT let everyone kill themselves!” said Keebo. The Ultimate Robot turned to us. “Don’t listen to Shuichi! If we don’t have our hope, then who are we?"

As they argued, the rest of us watched in muted fascination.

Shuichi refused to fight, no matter what was thrown against him. He refused to choose a side. And slowly, but surely, he brought us all over to his perspective.

“We need to stop the killing game!” he shouted. “Not just for our class, but for every future class if we don’t end this!”

“Yeah!” said Himiko. “The REAL enemy is Danganronpa!”

Maki's scarlet eyes glared at Tsumugi.

Kiyo watched the scene intently, curiosity overruling his despair.

In the end, several things happened. Tsumugi offered our classmates many incentives to keep playing the killing game. We refused them.

When that didn't work, Tsumugi even disclosed Korekiyo's secret to the group. "Heh. You want to talk about who deserves death? I'll show you who deserves death!" At my escalating panic, she laughed. "Yeah, that's right! THIS man, right here!" 

She pointed at Kiyo. "Guess what, ladies and gentlemen? This man killed _eighty-seven_ people!"

"That ain't no drop in the bucket!" Monokuma agreed. 

Our classmates were skeptical of Tsumugi's claim.

"Why the hell should we believe you?" 

"She's full of it!"

"We can't trust Tsumugi!"

Kiyo looked at everyone. There was resignation on his face. "Actually...it's true."

"Please, don't say that," I pleaded. "They don't need to know."

"Wait, _they don't need to know?_ " Shuichi said with surprise. "You knew he was a _murderer_ and you didn't tell us?" Shuichi said, angrily pointing at me.

Chills ran down my spine. "He's not one anymore!" 

"How can you defend him?!" Shuichi yelled.

"What I've done is indefensible," Kiyo said. "But let me explain..."

"Explain _this,"_ said Maki. In a moment, she was on him, swinging.

The tall anthropologist dodged her attacks with speed and strength, easily flipping her aside. Without her assassin's element of surprise, the shorter girl didn't stand a chance against him. "I'm not going to hurt you," Kiyo said, restraining Maki so she couldn't hit him, "but you need to stop attacking me."

Seeing how much stronger he was kind of gave me the creeps. _Well, he is a guy,_ I realized. _Good thing he's on our side now._

"You sick bastard," Maki hissed through gritted teeth.

One of her kicks landed.

"Oof," Kiyo winced, but his hold on her didn't slacken enough for her to escape. 

Shuichi said, "We'll hear what you have to say."

"Maki, I'll release you if you stop fighting."

"Alright, fine," she said, clearly not happy about it. The olive-sleeved arms released her and drew back.

As Maki returned to her podium, Korekiyo recounted his story. "I've...killed people. A lot of people. But when I stood before the Mask of Judgment, it punished me..."

He told everyone what had happened to him recently. Why he had shrunk, how his heart had changed, and how he had sworn to never commit murder again.

"I don't believe a word of it," said Maki. "One with that much evil in their heart could never change."

"You changed," I said.

"I killed because I had to." Her eyes flared red. "I'm not a complete _psycho_ like he is."

"I'm not like that anymore," Korekiyo said with shame. "It doesn't erase my crimes, but...my personality really has changed. I seem to have developed not just _cognitive empathy_ \- understanding the motivations behind another's feelings, but true _emotional_ empathy." He lowered his head and opened his arms.

He brought one hand to his chest. His other hand went up to his scalp and clutched a clump of his black hair. "Now, I can truly feel another's emotions. At least to an extent. All the things people say about "feeling each other's pain" and "doing the right thing"- I see now that it's not just social reciprocity and virtue signalling. I may never know what "normal" feels like, but I am no threat to you anymore."

Maki looked very angry. "Bullshit. Give me one good reason not to end your life."

"M-Maki," Shuichi said.

"You could _vote_ for him!" Tsumugi suggested. She was in cheerful Junko mode. "Who are you gonna kill, me who killed one person, or a serial killer who murdered _EIGHTY-SEVEN?"_

Maki glared at Korekiyo.

"If you don't believe him," I said to Maki, "believe the Mask of Judgment. The curse could only be lifted if he stopped killing _and turned good._ On the inside."

The Ultimate Assassin reluctantly agreed not to kill him in this trial, or after we escaped the school. If we ever did.

"But only because it would hurt _you,"_ she said to me.

Shuichi still looked quite troubled. "I don't know how to feel about this," he said.

"Please, just give him a chance."

"Fine, I won't vote for him. And I won't try to kill him. But I'm not the type of person who kills people, anyway."

Himiko hadn't said anything this whole time. She was just staring out into space. She was at the edge of keeping her shit together, and none of us wanted to push her over.

"Well, this has all been VERY INTERESTING," Tsumugi said, "but we have voting to do! Hurry up and decide!"

Shuichi convinced us to abstain from voting for the culprit of Rantaro’s murder, even though we’d all just proven Tsumugi’s guilt. Keebo, our hope robot, flew around the school with his jetpack and destroyed most of the buildings, and as it became clear that the game was ending, the viewers of Danganronpa that we saw on the Jumbo-Tron visibly began tuning out of the broadcast. 

“No!” Tsumugi said, clutching her hands into fists. “Y-You can’t destroy Danganronpa! The viewers…they’ll come back!” But all the usernames on the screen went black. The screen soon had nothing on it.

“No, you can’t… _come back! COME BACK!”_ the blue-haired traitor cried. 

My classmates turned to her, their eyes full of bloodlust.

Maki stepped forward. Her red eyes glittered in the afternoon sun. “You evil, conniving _bi-“_

Just then, a big shadow appeared. We barely had time to register it before a huge piece of rubble dropped right on Tsumugi, killing her. Several of us jumped. All that was visible of our former classmate was a few bright streaks of blood, staining the sides of the boulder. 

Keebo spiraled up into the dome and exploded, raining down glass and metal. We all flinched.

“Huh,” said Korekiyo. Feeling a wet spot, he put his finger to his face and found a tiny speck of blood. He looked back out at the boulder. 

Shuichi kept staring at where Tsumugi had stood. 

“Oh my God,” said Himiko. 

“Can’t say I feel bad for her,” said Maki coldly. She said a few expletives. “It’s her fault we’re imprisoned here.”

She was right, but it was still shocking seeing a classmate die right in front of us. 

“Still,” said Shuichi, “it’s messed up. I can’t…I can’t take any more of this.”

Korekiyo felt something very strange. Like pins and needles. For the second time today, he could barely stand straight. I ran over to hold him as he slumped over the front of his scooter. 

“Kiyo?” Himiko said with concern. 

After about ten seconds, I noticed his back rising and falling irregularly. “Kiyo?” I said.

When I stepped around to look at him, there were tears in his eyes. It seemed he’d finally broken. Several of our classmates were also feeling emotional.

“Too much death,” he said. “Too much. I’ve…had my fill of it.” His eyes stared, quiet tears coming out of them. 

Shuichi walked up and put a hand on Kiyo’s back. “It’s gonna be okay.”

_Is it, though?_

Maki and Himiko walked over as well. Even Maki was starting to lose her composure. We all huddled together and held each other. 

Whatever awaited us, we would face it together.

* * * * *  
When the dust finally cleared, a jagged hole had appeared in the side of the dome above us. 

The class of the Academy for Gifted Juveniles stared in amazement. What appeared before us was not the red, desolate nightmare Tsumugi had shown us, but blue sky. 

“Wait, are those seagulls?” Himiko remarked, pointing at tiny points of white in the sky. 

They were. 

“But Tsumugi told us everything was dead…” Shuichi mused.

Our hearts leapt for a moment. If she'd lied about this, what else had she lied about? Could our families and friends still be out there, waiting for us?

“Let’s get out of here,” Shuichi said.

Korekiyo, Himiko, Maki, and I agreed.

When we jerry-rigged a few ladders together and got ourselves out of the dome, a familiar skyline was visible on the horizon. 

It was our city. Exactly as we’d left it.

There were trees, cars, intact buildings, circling seagulls, and people. People with all different hairstyles and clothes and personalities, all going about their day _without killing each other._ Most of them, at least. 

Kiyo put his arm around me, and we marveled at the beautiful sight.

It was a vibrant world. 

We stepped into it.


	38. "We know all about Mr. Shinguji's crimes..."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The survivors meet the police and the director of Danganronpa 53.

There was a crowd of people waiting for us as we left the dome. The fire department let us down from the destroyed facility with ladders.

Just as our feet touched the pavement, darts hit us. 

There was a sharp prick of pain and then our knees started to buckle.

Shuichi said, “Wait, is this a tranquillizzzzzzzzzzze…” and crumpled to the ground. We all fell asleep shortly afterward. 

We awoke to find ourselves inside a room in an office building. Apparently, we’d been sedated and taken here in a helicopter “for your own personal safety, and to avoid causing a riot.” We were given some papers saying we’d survived Danganronpa 53 and that we relinquished any further participation in the franchise. We were also not allowed to discuss what had happened to us publicly.

There was really no choice but to sign. Afterwards, we were sent on our way.

As Kiyo and I walked across the freshly-waxed hallway, I saw something that made me nervous.

Two police officers seemed to be waiting for us.

Shuichi spoke. “Um, officers, you might know this already, but you need to arrest Korekiyo. He confessed to the murders of eighty-seven girls. He killed them all before we got to the Academy.”

My blood turned to ice. I had known this was coming, but…

“That’s our Ultimate Detective!” Himiko exclaimed proudly. Then her face fell. “Wait…KIYO’S A MURDERER?!”

“Sadly, he is,” said Shuichi.

 _Talk about a delayed reaction,_ I thought.

Himiko’s eyes practically popped out of her head. “W-when did this come up?” 

“Were you not paying attention?” said Maki. “They mentioned it at the end, with Tsumugi.”

The male officer spoke to Shuichi. “Thank you, young man. But we already know all about Mr. Shinguji’s crimes.” He grinned and looked at the female officer, who was also smiling. “At this point, who _doesn’t?”_

The female officer said, “His trial made national news. He had earned the death penalty for what he’d done.”

“Wait…what?!” Kiyo said in shock.

_Oh no…_

Several of our classmates gasped in surprise.

“Plus, we’re pretty big fans of the show,” the male officer admitted.

“However,” the female officer said, “despite the inflated number Tsumugi gave you, the real number of murder victims was three.” She looked at me. “You were right, there’s no way Mr. Shinguji could have killed eighty-seven people.”

“Y-You can’t kill him!” I said in a panic. 

“It’s alright, young lady,” said the male officer, in an overly-calm voice. 

“No, I get that he needs to face justice, but please! If you need to punish him, send him to jail! He won’t hurt anyone anymore!” I knew that was a futile argument. “He _promised!”_

“Miss,” the female officer said with a touch of steel, “please remain calm. Mr. Shinguji…”

“No!” I cried, tears springing to my eyes. 

After all we had done to survive Danganronpa…he was going to die?! I couldn’t bear it. I threw my arms around the anthropologist, who looked shocked and despondent. _“I won’t let them hurt you! I won’t!”_

“It’s no use,” he said, seeming resigned. “I have to face up to what I did, even if that means execution.”

Shuichi looked confused. He said to the officers, “Uh, why aren’t you getting out your handcuffs?”

Just then, an attractive middle-aged woman in a sharp grey suit and skirt walked by.

She said brightly, “What’s this about the death penalty?”

The officers said, “We were just trying to explain-“

“Korekiyo Shinguji,” said the director, her professional smile turning a bit wistful. “There’s no need to worry about that. Your punishment’s complete. Almost every Ultimate here needed some convincing to join our game, but you joined voluntarily.”

He stared at her in surprise. “I see.”

“Nice to meet you. Again. I’m Julie Hasegawa. You probably don’t remember this, but when you were convicted and charged with the murders of those three women, your defense attorney wrangled a deal out of it with the prosecutor. In the end, the state offered you either participation in the killing game-which had an 87% chance of killing you anyway-or the death penalty. You chose the killing game. And in the possible but unlikely event that you survived the game…you’d be free.”

She had black hair dyed a light brown. She wiped a strand out of her eyes. 

Kiyo looked at her incredulously. “So…I won’t be getting executed? Or taken to prison?”

“Nope,” the director smiled. “You’re home free! Of course, everyone in the country knows who you are, so you should be careful. Some members of the public may not be so forgiving.”

“You’ll…have to invest in some good bodyguards,” I said to Kiyo, feeling insanely relieved. 

“Seriously?” said Himiko. “He killed THREE PEOPLE?” She looked at me like I was nuts.

“I only found out when it was clear he’d changed! When he wasn’t a threat anymore!” I lied. 

Shuichi said uncomfortably, “His curse was almost lifted by that point, and the Mask that cursed him knew he wasn’t going to hurt anyone anymore.”

“He’s different now!” I said. “He won’t kill anyone. He got cursed by the mask, and the only way to lift it was to let love in and stop being evil. When he turned good, the Mask undid the curse and he went back to normal size.”

“A simplified version of it, but that’s basically what happened,” Kiyo said. “I’m never going to kill anybody again, unless it’s in self-defense…” He looked at me. “…Or defense of another.”

I turned to Kiyo. He practically attacked me with a passionate kiss. I returned it with just as much force.

“I love you so much,” I said.

Kiyo said tenderly, “I love you too.”

We realized we were doing public displays of affection in front of the director of Danganronpa, and stopped. 

I heard the director say, “It’s the same deal that was offered to you, Miss Harukawa. Though no one could even estimate how many victims you had working for the mob.”

“Nyeh, this legal system is kinda messed up when you think about it,” said Himiko. “Kids getting put on death row…a hitman- uh- hitwoman and a serial killer getting away with murder…”

“Yeah, it’s pretty fucked up,” I admitted, as that former serial killer stole one more kiss.

“That’s not even including the killing game,” said Shuichi. 

“Well! Since Maki and Kiyo are no longer threats, that seems to have worked out quite nicely!” beamed the director.

“I got a question,” I said. “Tsumugi told us all our memories were fake. Is that true?”

“Oh no,” Ms. Hasegawa said in a bless-your-heart tone of voice. She was being patronizing, but her cheerful, elementary-school teacher demeanor softened the blow. “Tsumugi has a propensity for the fanciful. She wanted to, excuse my language, ‘mind-fuck’ the class of Danganronpa 53 as much as possible.”

“Mission accomplished,” Maki deadpanned. 

“She altered and embellished parts of your pasts, but not nearly to the extent described in the last trial. Oh, one big difference is you’re not all high school students at all! Most of your class was 18-22, so college age. Himiko’s 16, she’s the youngest. Unless you count Keebo – he was only created two years ago, but his mental age was around 18.”

Seeing our expressions of interest, Ms. Hasegawa continued. “Korekiyo’s 22, ----- is 21. Shuichi, you’re 20. Maki is 18.”

Shuichi looked uneasy. “Since we-uh…stopped Danganronpa, does that mean you’re out of a job?”

Maki elbowed him. _“Shuichi!”_

“Ohh boy,” I said nervously. Korekiyo put his arm around me and observed.

Himiko narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, why are you being so nice to us?”

The director tittered. “Stopped Danganronpa? Hee hee hee hee hee!”

Her welcoming demeanor was starting to give me goosebumps.

In a cashier-who-had-too-much-coffee voice, Julie Hasegawa said, “Oh, don’t be so sure! You guys dealt us a blow back there, but the people love Danganronpa. It’s the most popular show on TV!” Julie paused, and when she spoke next, her voice was tinged with ice. “Make no mistake, Danganronpa will be back for another season.”

From the eerie look in her eye, we knew not to ask more questions.

“Perhaps we’ll do what we did with you two, and make all of our next class death row prisoners! It wouldn’t be that much different from what happened on Jabba Island…”

Shuichi was taken aback. We all felt a chill in the room.

“An interesting idea,” said Korekiyo.

We all frowned at him. 

“What?” he said. “You can’t deny that would be interesting.”

“Don’t give her ideas!” Himiko said.

I turned to him, a sarcastic grin on my face. “Are you gonna offer to be the official anthropologist for that season, too?”

“Keheheh…I’ve been traumatized enough already. And if you’re not there, it wouldn’t be half as interesting.”

“Aww,” I said, and gave him another kiss. 

“Uh, th-thanks for talking with us!” Shuichi managed. 

“We appreciate it,” I added. “Is there anything else we need to sign or whatever, or are we free to go?”

“You’re free to go!” exclaimed the chipper director. “Oh, and the one hundred thousand dollars each of you survivors has won has been added to your bank accounts.”

“One hundred THOUSAND dollars?!” 

“Yes! You didn’t forget about your prize, did you? Anyway, I have a meeting to go to.”

“A meeting?” said Shuichi.

“Oh, yes. We have to figure out how to recover from the crisis that your class caused, and then we have to start planning Danganronpa 54.”

Himiko's face looked ashen. 

Korekiyo just stared.

“D…Danganronpa 54?” Shuichi said, his eyes going wide with horror.

“Yep,” the cheerful director said. “But don't worry. There’s no way we’re hiring any of _you_ again. Even if any of you wanted to, you already signed that form.”

I let out a tentative breath of relief. 

“Buh-bye!” she said, flashing us a hundred-watt smile. “Have nice lives!”


	39. Extra scene - Showing her the ropes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Danganronpa 53 is over, Kiyo finally gets the chance to tie up the protagonist.

“If you’re interested in ropes, I will show you everything you need to learn,” Korekiyo said in that breathy voice.

I’d seen Korekiyo’s bondage ropes before, and expressed interest, but when he’d been 3 inches tall he couldn’t use them. Now he stood before me, all six foot two of him, holding the scarlet ropes in his hand. I’d asked him to tie me up, and he’d acquiesced. Kiyo had started with something simple.

His ivory hands, slender and strong, moved deftly across my back, weaving the ropes together in intricate patterns. I couldn’t see what was going on, but as the threads began to hold me fast, a strange wave of relaxation fell over my body. The ropes were like a heavy blanket, calming and secure. At the same time, being in this position brought vulnerability. I had to trust that he meant me no harm. 

I felt his soft breaths on my ear. “How do you feel?”

I struggled to find the words. “It feels…nice. Surprisingly relaxing.”

“Lovely. If it starts to bother you, tell me ‘yellow’ and I’ll untie them. If it’s an emergency, say ‘red’ and I’ll cut them.” He produced a pair of long scissors. 

“Sounds good to me.”

There was a little, irrepressible smile on Kiyo’s face as he continued tying the parts on my chest. 

After a couple minutes, Kiyo finally said, “There.”

He brought another mirror so I could see the complicated patterns on my back. The bright red ropes contrasted with my skin, crossing it and weaving through one another in interesting shapes. There was a stark beauty to them.  
“Wow,” I said. “That’s really cool. Did it take a long time to learn to do this?”

“A chest harness like this one isn’t too difficult to learn. And I’ve had a lot of practice. Glad you’re enjoying this,” he said in his high-pitched, sensual voice. He put the mirror on his bedside table.

I smiled at him. “Oh, and since I’m obligated to say this - don't murder me, alright?” It had become an inside joke at this point. Obviously, I’d never let Kiyo tie me up if I didn’t trust him.

He chortled quietly. “Kehehe. One more time - if I wanted to kill you, I would’ve done it already.”

Kiyo moved in and kissed me deeply. My mind exploded in a haze of pleasure. His right hand snaked down my waist, caressing me. The other one went up to my upper back, where the rope lay in beautiful patterns. When his lips finally pulled away, I felt giddy.

“Besides, if I had to murder someone here, you’d be last on my list.”

“Gee, way to flatter a girl. I’m not that special to you, am I?” I joked.

His yellow eyes glimmered with amusement. He brushed a strand of long hair out of his face.

“I think you know the answer to that.”

Kiyo was irresistible. 

“Give me another kiss,” I said. 

And he did.


	40. Bonus Scene: Kiyo and the girl go to a BDSM club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Months in the future, Kiyo and the girl visit a BDSM club. There are a couple of surprises.

One day, when the next season of Danganronpa was being broadcast and the hubbub over v3 had mostly quieted down (though it never fully did), Korekiyo brought me to a BDSM club. We were immediately mobbed, despite both of us trying to disguise ourselves. 

“Nice Fu Manchu, Kork!” a guy in a leather vest grinned. 

“Heheh. It appears my attempt at a disguise didn’t work so well.”

“Oh my God! Korekiyo Shinguji!” a woman shouted. 

“Who’s that?” asked someone else.

“Way to get my _favorite fuckin’ show_ canceled,” a short girl with a mohawk complained.

“Hey!” a buff man said to me. “Not to sound creepy or anything, but you can take care of _me_ anytime.”

“I don’t think so,” said Korekiyo.

“Come back when you’re three inches tall!” I joked. 

As we walked away, the buff man's friend said to him, "Dude, don't harass people in here. You'll get us kicked out."

Kiyo’s arm snaked protectively around my back as we walked past the bar. His cane tapped on the floor to assist his still-damaged left leg. Maybe he wouldn’t need the cane one day, or maybe he’d always require it. Reattached limbs rarely worked the same after their injury. Compared to bleeding to death, or getting an artificial leg that would never have feeling of its own, Korekiyo had been lucky.

He was no longer on pain pills, but he didn’t drink in this place.

You _could_ drink here, but alcohol was something you shouldn't mix with BDSM.

Some people shunned us, some were morbidly curious, and Korekiyo had a legion of female fans. Loads of people wanted to be tied up by the famous Kork.

“Is it alright with you?” he turned to ask me, as a blushing, gorgeous black chick in boots awaited his reply. 

“Of course,” I said. “It's not like I own you or anything. Have fun!”

So he tied her up. It was hypnotizing to see those deft fingers weaving the ropes. At first, I felt a little jealous, but that feeling was subsumed by admiration. Elaborate knots and lines appeared. After about twenty minutes, Kiyo’s work was complete. The woman was perfectly balanced in a beautiful, ballet-like pose, lines from all over her body running to a large ring in the air. She beamed with joy. 

“This is amazing! The tension’s so even everywhere, it feels like being hugged all over.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” said Kiyo. 

“Wow!” I said. “I’ve never seen you do that before.”

He turned and smiled at me. “I’ll do it to you sometime if you like.”

In a few minutes, she asked to be let down, and Kiyo meticulously undid all his work. When it was done, he asked if she needed a hug, and they embraced. This was typical after scenes like this in the club. Just before pulling away, the woman gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. Then she giggled. Kiyo turned bright red. 

“Eh. I didn’t say you could kiss me. You should have asked.”

She giggled. “Sorry! I got caught up in the moment.”

I tried to push the flash of jealousy away. 

Another person requested to flog Korekiyo. Kiyo asked me, “Would you like to flog me instead?” I agreed vigorously. With a leather flogger, then a plastic cane, I used the moves he’d taught me. A wicked smile escaped my lips as Kiyo writhed and cried out on the bench he’d been chained to. A girl with flowing blond hair tried to take a picture. Security demanded she put it away. “No phones in this area, ma’am.”

It wasn’t the first time Kiyo and I had done S and M, but it was the first time we’d done so for an audience. Truth be told, after the first couple of minutes, I forgot they were even there. 

My heart rose. I loved it all. The sound of the floggers and canes...the feeling of a man totally under my power.

Kiyo was right. In certain contexts, suffering could be quite beautiful. 

I gently unchained Kiyo afterwards, and he trembled as we stepped away from the bench together. A dungeon monitor dressed like a butler wiped the area down before another couple strutted over to start their fun.

I offered Kiyo a glass of water and sat with him in a quiet area nearby. After you flogged somebody, it was important to help them recover. Kiyo had requested kissing and cuddling after his scene. After finishing the drink, Kiyo’s lips practically lunged at my face. My hands ran over his slim, ivory back, now striped with red and a bit of purple. His slender hands grasped me close. “You are so…evil,” he said deliciously. “You’re one to talk,” I breathed, tasting his sweet lips and tongue. I thought about how far we had come.

After all, just a few months ago, we had been trapped in a sadistic reality show with murders happening all around us. Kiyo had had secret plans to kill too. But then, he’d been cursed by an ancient artifact, had renounced murder, had nearly lost his leg stopping Kokichi from killing me, and most miraculously, Kiyo, Himiko, Shuichi, Maki, and I had been able to escape with our lives. 

A few minutes later, Kiyo whispered, “Were you jealous earlier?”

“A little,” I admitted. 

“I didn’t think she was going to kiss me,” he said. 

“Yeah, that’s not cool. I didn’t think there’d be that many fans either. I mean…now that you’re famous, and I am too…there’s probably gonna be a lot of that.”

“It’s true,” Kiyo said. “We’re public figures now.”

“And, you know…if you really did want to kiss her…” I said awkwardly. Emotional conversations sucked. “…I guess that’s okay. As long as…your heart belongs to me.”

Kiyo looked deeply into my eyes. “You are the only one I really love, the one I care about.” He hugged me again. “You are beautiful and funny…you’re amazing.” He looked at me. “I shall always love you.”

He drew out a small velvet box. I gasped. 

“Is…is that…!”

“Yes, it’s a ring. We’re young, this is crazy…but do you want me?”

“Of course I do. Kiyo.” I loved him, but it all felt so soon… 

Statistics of marriage failure rates for people in our age group ran across my mind. Should I go for it anyway? My heart urged me to, but…

“Kiyo, I love you, but we’re so young…the statistics for marriage at our age scare me. If…If we’re gonna do this, I just really want it to work.”

His face fell a little, but he composed himself.

“We are young. I’m 23, you’re 22…but that wasn’t a complete _no,_ was it?”

“I just…I just think we should wait. Like a year or so. If this doesn’t work, and we had to break off an engagement, that would suck.”

That had happened to my cousin. It had been really tough on the family.

“Well, alright. If you still want me a year from now, I’ll put it on your finger.” 

“That would be wonderful.”

“Better save the date then. February…” He paused for a moment, drawing a blank.

“19th,” I said.

“February 19th,” Kiyo said with a smile, “if you still want to be, you’re my fiancée.”

“Yes!” I cried, and kissed him again. 

We were startled out of our reverie by a little round of applause. A small crowd of kinksters who’d gathered around us were clapping and making comments, mostly positive ones. 

Kiyo looked at me again and smiled, a hand going up to his cheek. His eyes betrayed a hint of bashfulness. I grinned at him, a little embarrassed myself but not caring. 

_Oh, Kiyo. This feels like the start of something wonderful._


End file.
